ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Catz Club: Political Parties

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether the Electoral Commission plans to investigate donations made by Catz Club to political parties following the announcement of a statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission into previously undisclosed payments.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has considered two donations made to the Labour party by Catz Club, a permissible donor under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Both donations arose from payments made by Catz Club to attend Labour party events. A proportion of the payments met the costs of the services provided at the event, and a proportion was a donation to the party.
	On the basis of information available, the Electoral Commission concluded that the figure used by the party for the cost of services provided in each instance was reasonable, and that there was no breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which areas in England exceeded  (a) national and  (b) European air quality limit values for particulates at any time in the last 12 months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Under EU legislation, the UK is required to monitor the air continuously for levels of particulate matter (PM10) and to report to the European Commission on an annual basis. The UK also reports modelled data, in accordance with the legislation.
	As a result of improvements over many years the limit values are met across more than 99 per cent. of the country, delivering significant health benefits. The few remaining areas where we have reported exceedences are small. The monitoring information for 2008 remains provisional and the fully ratified data are not yet available. However, on the basis of provisional data monitored breaches of EU limit values for particulate matter are only expected to occur in London. The modelling assessment is not due to be completed until the summer.

Air Pollution

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times the UK has breached European Union air quality  (a) particulate,  (b) sulphur dioxide,  (c) lead and  (d) carbon monoxide limits in each year since they were introduced; and what steps the European Commission has taken in each case.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Under EU legislation, the UK is required to monitor the air for levels of particulate matter (PM10), and to report to the European Commission on an annual basis. The UK also reports modelled data, in accordance with the legislation.
	For the purposes of implementing EU legislation the UK is divided up into 43 agglomeration zones (areas with a contiguous population of over 250,000 as specified by the air quality directives) and non-agglomeration zones. There are 28 agglomeration zones and 15 non-agglomeration zones.
	The UK has not reported any breaches of EU limit values for lead or carbon monoxide since they were introduced. A breach of the sulphur dioxide limits was modelled and reported to the European Commission in 2005 and 2006, in the eastern zone close to a brick works in Stewartby. The European Commission requested information on action being taken to address the breaches, and, on the basis of the UK response, there has been no further correspondence. Breaches have not been reported subsequently and the brick works has now closed.
	Like most other member states, the UK has reported a number of breaches of the limits for particulates (PM10) since they came into force in 2005. There has been correspondence between the Commission and many other member states on these breaches. Most recently the Commission wrote to the UK Government and a number of other member states in January in relation to breaches since 2006 in the absence of a time extension Notification seeking additional time to meet the limit value. The UK has since submitted a time extension notification for the relevant zones/agglomerations as provided for under the Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC). Details of breaches reported since 2005 are set out in the PM10 time extension notification application which can be accessed using the following link:
	www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/eu-int/eu-directives/airqual-directives/notification.htm

Air Pollution: Greater London

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on his decision to suspend the third phase of London's low emission zone.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Lord Hunt met with the Mayor of London on 22 January 2009 to discuss how DEFRA and the Greater London Authority could work together to ensure air quality limit values for particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) were met in London. Following this meeting, officials in DEFRA, the Greater London Authority and Transport for London have met to discuss potential measures and these discussions are continuing.
	The meeting with the Mayor was prior to his announcement on the suspension of the third phase of the London low emission zone (LEZ). While the Mayor has indicated his intentions to suspend the LEZ Phase 3 from October 2010, a final decision will be subject to consultation which will take place between now and then. Should the Mayor decide to suspend Phase 3 the Government expect him to put in place other measures that would contribute to achieving the limit values to the same, if not greater, extent.

Bees: Public Consultation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to consult beekeepers and other bee enthusiasts on the development of his Department's national bee health strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The 'Healthy Bees' plan was developed with beekeeping associations and other interested parties and was launched on 9 March. Strengthened partnership working between these parties is vital to the success of the plan. My officials will therefore shortly be discussing the implementation of the plan with key beekeeping representatives in order to secure a sustainable way forward.
	DEFRA has allocated new resources for the bee health programme to fund the implementation of the plan. On top of its current £1.3 million, an additional £1.137 million will be provided to the National Bee Unit in the financial year 2009-10 and £1.158 million in 2010-11 to implement the first stage of the plan.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate has been made of the proportion of personal computers in each of his Department's offices that are turned off  (a) overnight,  (b) at weekends and  (c) during holiday periods; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA is nearing completion of a programme to roll-out new Energy Star compliant Vista laptops and desktops to its staff in core DEFRA and those agencies/NDPBs taking all their desktop services from IBM (including Animal Health, Natural England and Marine and Fisheries Agency), a total of some 7,000 staff.
	These new devices deploy Vista's inbuilt group policy options to enforce a default switch to the Vista 'sleep' (which drops the device to a low power setting) and then 'hibernate' standby modes (which encrypts the data and then switches off the machine) after pre-set periods of inactivity.
	On completion of this roll-out in the summer, all devices in these DEFRA organisations will therefore be switched off overnight, at weekends and over holiday periods.
	No central information is currently available as to the position with DEFRA's other agencies and NDPBs.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) printers and  (b) multi-function devices with printing functions were in use in each division of his Department in each of the last five years; how many such devices had a function enabling two-sided printing; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: There are no figures available for the Department for the period 2004 to 2006.
	In 2007 a printer consolidation exercise was undertaken for the core Department and those of its agencies taking desktop services from the Department's strategic supplier IBM (some 4,500 staff). As a result:
	2,044 printers were removed for disposal
	601 multi-function devices were installed with duplex settings
	749 existing printers with duplex and standby power modes were redeployed.
	Total printers deployed: 1,350—all enabled with duplex printing.
	As these printers are all shared over the network there is no breakdown available by division; nor are figures available yet for 2008.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of IT products in each category procured for each division of his Department were compliant with the Government's Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: For core DEFRA and those agencies taking all their IT services from IBM, (some 4,500 staff), IBM currently uses a catalogue of assets that conform with the Quick Wins criteria for those product sectors where these are now in place i.e. laptops, desktops and monitors.
	96 per cent. of the currently deployed 4,500 IBM desktop and laptop assets are compliant with Quick Wins, following completion of a recent refresh exercise that provided a single device for all these staff.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on  (a) the purchase of and  (b) bills for (i) BlackBerrys and (ii) other mobile telephones for (A) Ministers, (B) special advisers and (C) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The requested information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department does not record costs at the level of detail required to allow a breakdown per device or for the categories of individual requested.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) BlackBerrys and  (b) other mobile telephones have been provided to (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA procures BlackBerry services and mobile phones via two different arrangements.
	1. In the case of BlackBerry services, these are provided through the IBM contract. DEFRA is unable to provide a breakdown of past usage of BlackBerry services as this would require a manual trawl of historical data that would incur disproportionate cost. We have shown the usage figures for March 2009 for the core Department for information as an indication of current usage:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Ministers 2 
			 Special advisers 2 
			 Civil servants (1)269 
			 (1) Figure relates to civil servants in core Department only. 
		
	
	2. In the case of mobile phones, these are purchased via OGC's Mobile Solutions contract. DEFRA is unable to provide the data at the level of detail requested for historical data. The total number of connections for the core Department and a breakdown for March 2009 data is included in the following table:
	
		
			  Total connections( 1) 
			   Number 
			 2006 1,760 
			 2007 1,153 
			 2008 822 
			 2009 629 
			   
			  March 2009 breakdown:  
			 Ministers 1 
			 Special advisers 0 
			 Civil servants (2)628 
			 (1) Figures based on connections during the year from historical reports in December 2006, October 2007, December 2008, April 2009. Data from 2005 not readily available at proportionate cost. (2) Figure is based on assumption that civil servants equals end users i.e. civil servants and contractors working in the Department. 
		
	
	Breakdown of historical data could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 826-27W, on the economic situation, what expenditure was incurred by his Department in relation to  (a) the internal conference held in October 2008 and  (b) the seminar with delivery bodies held in November 2008, under each budgetary heading.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The total cost of the senior civil service conference in October 2008 was £16,064.76. £6,687.11 was spent on venue hire and catering and £9,377.65 was spent on facilitation of the event. There were no costs incurred for the following workshops.
	The seminar with DEFRA delivery bodies on 10 November 2008 was held at the offices of WRAP in Banbury. The only costs to DEFRA were the time and rail travel of seven departmental representatives. Attendees from the other delivery bodies would have incurred similar costs.

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made to end the right to automatic connections to surface water drains for major new developments.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Provision for the amendment of the right to automatically connect surface water drains and sewers serving new developments to the public sewerage system, under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991, is contained in the draft Flood and Water Management Bill, published for consultation on 21 April.

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that water company price reviews for 2009 make provision for them to achieve required works for the resilience to flooding of critical infrastructure; and what discussions he has had with Ofwat on the issue.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The 2009 review of water price limits is owned by Ofwat as the independent economic regulator for the water industry.
	Paragraph 2.48 of DEFRA's statutory Social and Environmental Guidance issued to Ofwat in August 2008 states:
	"Consideration of the risks and impacts of floods on water and sewerage infrastructure and the greater incidence of more extreme weather conditions that climate change is likely to bring, should also extend to resilience of the water industry. Companies, in their business plans, are expected to consider the vulnerability of their critical assets to hazards and assess the resilience of their asset systems in providing services to their customers and the environment. In addition, specific regulatory requirements are placed on companies by the Security and Emergency Measures Direction (SEMD) 1998, and on Licensees by SEMD 2006. These directions among other things, require companies to carry out security work on their vital installations, and protect their other installations and facilities according to Guidance issued by the Government to companies. Ofwat is expected to ensure that companies are able to invest in essential works."
	I received a joint briefing from Ofwat, the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Drinking Water Inspectorate on 27 April on water and sewerage companies' final business plans, which were submitted to Ofwat on 7 April. This included discussions on resilience.
	Ofwat is currently scrutinising companies' final business plans ahead of issuing draft determinations of water price limits for comment in July.

Forestry Commission: Grants

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which grants allocated by the Forestry Commission are  (a) not and  (b) partially funded by the Rural Development Programme for England; and from which budgets each such grant is funded.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table lists the current and previous grant schemes that are currently administered by the Forestry Commission and for which payments continue to be made. All budget items marked 'RDPE' are paid from Axis 2 of the Rural Development Programme for England.
	
		
			   Part RDPE Funding  Budget 
			  English Woodland Grant scheme   
			 Woodland Planning Grant Yes RDPE 
			 Woodland Assessment Grant Yes RDPE 
			 Woodland Regeneration Grant No FC 
			 Woodland Management Grant Yes RDPE/FC(1) 
			 Woodland Improvement Grant Yes RDPE 
			 Woodland Creation Grant Yes RDPE 
			
			  Closed schemes:   
			  Woodland Grant Scheme   
			 Annual Management Grant No FC 
			 New Planting Grant Yes RDPE 
			 Woodland Improvement Grant Yes RDPE 
			 Restocking Grant No FC 
			
			  Old Schemes   
			 Farm Woodland Scheme Yes RDPE 
			 Farm Woodland Premium Scheme Yes RDPE 
			 Dedication No FC 
			 Other old schemes No FC 
			 (1) Woodland Management Grant contracts for public access agreed since 1 January 2007 come from Forestry Commission (FC) budget, those prior to 1 January2007 from RDPE.

Litter

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) prosecutions have been made and  (b) fixed penalty notices were issued by each local authority in West Sussex for (i) dropping of litter and (ii) dog fouling in each of the last three years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The information requested is as follows:
	 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs)
	The following table shows the figures on FPNs issued by each local authority in West Sussex for the dropping of litter and dog fouling. The figures are for the period 2006-07, the last year for which stats are available.
	
		
			   Litter  Dog Fouling 
			   FPNs Issued  FPNs Issued 
			 Adur 3 — 
			 Arun 10 4 
			 Chichester 1 2 
			 Crawley 95 5 
			 Horsham 1 — 
			 Mid Sussex — — 
			 Worthing — — 
			  Source:  Annual data provided by all English local authority districts to DEFRA. 
		
	
	 Prosecutions
	Court proceedings data held by the Ministry of Justice for the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for the offences dropping of litter and dog fouling in Sussex police force area for 2005-07 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
	Data held centrally cannot be further broken down to local authority level, thus Sussex police force area data have been provided in lieu.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for littering and dog fouling offences in Sussex police force area, 2005-07 
			  Sussex police force area  Proceeded against 
			  Offence  2005  2006  2007 
			 Littering — 1 1 
			 Dog fouling — 1 1 
			  Notes: 1 Data provided on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Includes offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sections 87 and 94. 4 Includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sec.87. Depositing litter. Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sec.94. Failing to comply with a street litter control notice. Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 Sec.3. Dog defecates on designated land and person in charge of dog fails to remove faeces from land forthwith.  Source:  OCJR - E and A: Office for Criminal Justice Reform - Evidence and Analysis Unit

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean of 2 March and 8 April 2009 on flooding and biomass crops, reference FD7571.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have sought advice from Environment Agency officials about the letters from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean dated 2 March and 8 April on flooding and biomass crops and will respond shortly.

Wild Boar

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  in what circumstances wild boar may be fed meat; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what precautions the Food and Environment Research Agency has put in place to prevent the spread of disease among wild boar populations which are fed meat.

Jane Kennedy: Wild boar cannot normally be fed meat unless it is fed for research purposes and is done in accordance with an authorisation. DEFRA has issued a general authorisation for use of animal by-products for research purposes. The Secretary of State can also issue individual authorisations and can suspend or revoke authorisations.
	Although the feeding of animal by-products to animals is a potential route of transmission of various diseases and is something that is not sanctioned in farming or domestic feeding practice, this isolated, short-term trial involving wild boar took place at a time when foot and mouth disease (FMD) and other exotic diseases were not present in GB. As such, DEFRA is confident that this particular activity did not increase the risk of introducing FMD or other exotic disease. No additional measures, beyond regular surveillance of the feral wild boar by research scientists, are considered necessary.
	The Food and Environment Research Agency does not currently feed any meat to any wild boar populations. In January 2009, as part of the agency's research on managing wild boar populations, meat was used at a single research site.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

House of Commons: Video Recordings

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission in what circumstances the House authorities may prevent  (a) a live video link to a meeting at the parliamentary estate from being made and  (b) a meeting from being held on the parliamentary estate; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The House authorities are guided by the regulations for the use of committee, conference, meeting and interview rooms which are approved by the Administration Committee and set out in the leaflet entitled "Committee Rooms, Conference, Meeting and Interview Rooms" which is available through the Members' Centre, attendants at reception desks and on the intranet. The regulations give guidance on the purposes for which Members may book these rooms. Within these regulations it is possible for Members to invite others to participate in meetings, either in person or via video link.
	It is the responsibility of a Member who holds a meeting to ensure that the purpose for which the room has been booked is within the regulations.

Palace of Westminster

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate the House of Commons Commission has made of the sums to be allocated for the renewal of facilities in the Palace of Westminster in each of the next six financial years.

Nick Harvey: Budgets for 2009-10 to 2011-12 only have been agreed at present, pending sign-off of a revised Accommodation and Estates Strategy following the completion of a condition survey of all buildings on the parliamentary Estate:
	
		
			  £000 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12 
			  Resource:
			 Projects 3,491 10,641 9,922 
			 Maintenance 6,818 6,717 6,774 
			 Furnishings 1,635 1,650 1,650 
			 Surveys, inspections, studies 835 850 850 
			 Total 12,779 19,858 19,196 
			 Capital investment 16,945 35,637 39,393 
		
	
	These figures cover the House of Commons share of investments by the Parliamentary Estates Directorate across the whole Estate. A number of programmes involve more than a single building, some of which are shared with the Lords, making it difficult to identify separate figures for the Palace of Westminster alone.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Energy

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) electricity,  (b) gas and  (c) other fuel was used by (i) his Department and (ii) each of its agencies in each of the last 10 years.

Shaun Woodward: Available figures on fuel expenditure for my Department and its agencies are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Northern Ireland Office fuel expenditure 
			  £000 
			   2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04 
			 Electricity 637 565 541 383 386 
			 Oil 69 113 86 202 68 
			 Gas 99 74 68 48 52 
			 Other fuels 2 0.3 0.7 0 0 
			 Vehicle fuel 19 18 30 32 32 
		
	
	
		
			  Northern Ireland Prison Service fuel expenditure 
			  £000 
			   2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04 
			 Electricity 1,243 1,155 1,008 861 828 
			 Oil 1,416 1,264 1,111 1,011 585 
			 Gas 348 392 289 155 145 
			 Vehicle Fuel 163 131 123 106 105 
		
	
	
		
			  Youth Justice Agency fuel expenditure 
			  £000 
			   2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04 
			 Electricity 162 227 160 152 140 
			 Oil 22 17 17 10 28 
			 Gas 71 116 70 44 37 
			 Vehicle fuel 21 18 21 19 15 
		
	
	
		
			  Compensation Agency fuel expenditure 
			  £000 
			   Electricity 
			 2007-08 24 
			 2006-07 27 
			 2005-06 27 
			 2004-05 21 
			 2003-04 20 
		
	
	
		
			  Forensic Science NI fuel expenditure 
			  £000 
			   2007-08  2006-07 
			 Electricity 74 63 
			 Gas 35 36

SCOTLAND

Departmental Rail Travel

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance his Department issues on whether members of staff may claim for travel in first class carriages on trains if there are no seats in standard class.

Ann McKechin: Office guidance on rail travel requires staff to book tickets through a contracted travel agent. This is in order to ensure that the best value for money is achieved through taking full advantage of advance bookings and discounts for fixed time departures. Staff, who usually travel in standard class, would be permitted to upgrade to first class if no standard seats were available, at their manager's discretion. It would be for individual line managers to assess the relative cost of staff travelling first class against the importance and nature of the journey in relation to the Office's business.
	All travel is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Bingo

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate his Department has made of  (a) the gross annual revenue generated by bingo clubs and  (b) the proportion of such revenue generated from (i) interval bingo and (ii) main stage bingo play in the latest period for which information is available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department has not made any such estimates.

Cultural Heritage: Expenditure

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent on the World Collections programme since its inception; and on which activities.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 30 April 2009
	The World Collections programme has received funding of £1 million to date.
	This funding has been distributed among the six partners in the programme—the British Museum, the British Library, Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. World Collections programme funding has been allocated to meet the aims and objectives of the programme, and has either funded projects delivered in challenging environments or has provided the initial money to develop strategic international partnerships.
	It has contributed funding towards the following activity since it began on 1 April 2008.
	 Middle  E ast :
	 World Ceramics at the Pera Museum, Istanbul
	The fourth leg of a V and A touring exhibition of ceramic material ordinarily displayed in the permanent galleries at South Kensington (which are being refurbished).
	 Museum Management seminar, Damascus
	To coincide with the World Ceramics exhibition in Damascus, the World Collections programme partners held a four-day museum management seminar in Damascus with curators from Syria, Jordan and Palestine.
	 Middle Eastern Contemporary Art
	A Tate-led research and relationship-building exercise between UK partners and artists and contemporary art institutions across the middle east. This exercise has included UK staff visits to the middle east (including to Kabul); a two-day seminar on the subject at Tate which involved artists, curators and museum professionals from a number of countries including Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Israel and the Gulf states; and seminars to bring together artists, curators and museum professionals in Sharjah and Dubai.
	 Digital photographic exhibition at the National Museum, Kabul
	The World Collections programme (led by the British Library) is developing a sustainable exhibition of digital copies of photographic images held in the archives of the six partner institutions. A British Library curator will also write labels and an exhibition guide (all will be translated into Pashtu). The digital images will be printed and mounted in situ in Kabul to share skills, and digital copies of all images in the exhibition given to the National Museum, Kabul.
	 India :
	 Indian Life and Landscapes
	A V and A-led touring exhibition to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) Mumbai and the Mehrangarh Fort, Jodphur. The World Collections programme also enabled the inclusion of a public programme, dual-language exhibition materials, and skills sharing and capacity building in exhibition display at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodphur.
	 Capacity building with the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad
	A V and A-led staff exchange to develop a partnership focused on joint exhibitions and conservation projects.
	 British Library in India
	Digitisation of a selection of the India Office records held at the British Library, and a relationship-building visit to three cities in India to develop partnerships between the six organisations in the World Collections programme and Indian institutions.
	 Mewar Ramayana manuscript
	Digitally reuniting the Mewar Ramayana manuscript which is held in four institutions—the British Library, CSMVS Mumbai, Baroda Museum and the Rajastan Oriental Institute.
	 Numismatic collections
	Development of a series of internships for colleagues in academic institutions in south Asia to study the numismatic collections at the British Museum.
	 Natural History Museum and the National Natural History Museum, New Delhi
	The World Collections programme is funding the initial development of a partnership between these two organisations.
	 Africa:
	 National Museums Kenya
	A series of initiatives to develop a partnership with National Museums Kenya. This has included a joint project to enhance the cultural heritage storage facilities at the Nairobi Museum, enable staff exchanges between London and Nairobi, and develop a partnership between the Nairobi Museum and the Natural History Museum.
	 African Sound Archives
	A joint project between the British Library and Kenyan National Archives to use the African heritage sound archives held at the British Library and, for the first time, use the audio-visual archives at the Kenyan National Archives. This project will make the archives available to public, provide new input into the British Library collection and assist in the development of the Nairobi-based collection.
	 National Museum, Addis Ababa
	A British Museum-led programme to collaborate with the National Museum in Addis Ababa through the delivery of training in Addis Ababa on the subjects of gallery management, exhibition display and textile conservation.
	 Development of a partnership with the Institute of Ethiopian Studies
	Funding a number of activities involving the British Museum, V and A, British Library and Institute of Ethiopian Studies to develop greater access to the UK-based Ethiopian collections for UK and Ethiopian audiences and the academic community. This has included staff exchanges and the provision of a digitised manuscript for the Institute of Ethiopian Studies.
	 Money in Africa
	Developing links between numismatic collections in the UK and Africa through a number of activities including digitisation of the British Museum's East African coin collection and making this available to African institutions as research and display aids; a capacity building exercise to develop skills in mounting, display and cataloguing with museums in Axum and Addis Ababa; and assistance with training at the Iziko Museums in South Africa.
	 African Digital Plants Resources
	RBG Kew is working to enhance collections-based digital resources relevant to African plant diversity in response to demands from stakeholders and specific feedback concerning existing resources. Main outputs will be a range of user friendly and attractive online 'species pages' for Africa, digitisation and analysis of African specimen information for selected species of conservation concern, and support for capacity building activities requested by African partners.
	 China :
	 Royal Botanical Gardens Kew and China Seed Bank
	Royal Botanical Gardens Kew worked in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop the China Seed Bank, which opened in Kunming in October 2008.
	 Natural History Museum and the Geological Museum of China, Beijing
	The World Collections Programme is funding the initial development of a partnership between these two organisations.
	 Internships with the International Dunhuang Project
	A series of internships for colleagues from Indian and Chinese institutions to work with the International Dunhuang Project.
	 Multi-country projects :
	 International Training Programme
	UK-based British Museum-led six-week training programme for 24 international curators, artists and museum professionals to work with specialist staff at the World Collections programme institutions and also develop skills in the basics of museum management. This project also involves Tyne and Wear Museums, Lincoln—The Collection, Manchester Museum and the Whitworth Art Gallery, Glasgow Museums, Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery and the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. The World Collections programme has provided funding for the 2008 and forthcoming 2009 training programmes.
	 Developing multi-lingual access to the collections :
	The World Collections programme is providing funding to develop access to the collections in languages other than English.
	 Administration :
	 World Collections programme co-ordinator
	The programme funds a part-time post, based at the British Museum, to co-ordinate and manage the programme.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what his most recent estimate is of his Department's capital expenditure in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10,  (c) 2010-11 and  (d) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his most recent estimate is of his Department's resource expenditure in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10,  (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The data in table C11 of Budget 2009 give the Capital and Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) for Estimated Outturn for 2008-09 and Plans for 2009-10 and 2010-11 in £ billions as follows:
	
		
			  £ billion 
			   Resource DEL  Capital DEL 
			 2008-09 Estimated outturn 1.6 0.8 
			 2009-10 Plans 1.7 0.4 
			 2010-11 Plans 1.7 0.6 
		
	
	We currently do not hold any data relating to 2011-12.
	The latest figures for Resource and Capital expenditure will be available in the Main Estimate and Supplementary Budget Information tables. These are normally published five weeks after the Budget.

Departmental Rail Travel

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance his Department has issued to its staff on claims for travel in first class carriages on trains if there are no seats in standard class.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Our guidance states that for economic purposes staff are encouraged to use standard class rail travel wherever possible. There is no specific guidance about staff claiming for first class travel on trains if there are no seats available in standard class.

Digital Technology: Conferences

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost to his Department was of hosting the Digital Britain summit on 17 April 2009; and who attended the summit.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 29 April 2009
	The DCMS contribution to the cost of the Digital Britain summit was £20,000.
	I am arranging for copies of the list of attendees to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Gambling Commission: Expenditure

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was paid in  (a) salary and  (b) bonus to the (i) chairman, (ii) chief executive, (iii) deputy chief executive, (iv) director of operations, (v) director of policy and communications, (vi) director of corporate services and (vii) director of licensing and compliance at the Gambling Commission in 2008-09.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 28 April 2009
	The table sets out the salary payments (to the nearest pound) made by the Gambling Commission for the posts listed in 2008-09.
	A total of £59,878 was also paid in bonuses for this period but it is not appropriate to provide the specific amounts paid to individuals.
	
		
			  Post  Notes  Salary (£) 
			 Chairman The post of Chairman is not pensionable. 65,975 
			 Chief Executive The post of Chief Executive is not pensionable. 144,953 
			 Deputy Chief Executive — 49,637 
			 Director of Operations This post became Director of Regulation from 1 November 2008. The figures are inclusive of both posts. 93,328 
			 Director of Policy and Communications To 31 October 2008. 42,978 
			 Director of Corporate Services — 95,755 
			 Director of Licensing and Compliance To 3 January 2009. 69,287

Government Art Collection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the  (a) total purchase price and  (b) estimated current market value are of the works of art from the Government Art Collection displayed in the private offices of HM Treasury Ministers.

Barbara Follett: Works from the Government Art Collection in private offices of Treasury Ministers, and their purchase prices, are set out in the following table.
	All prices include VAT where applicable.
	It is not possible to provide a current value for each of these works. The monetary value of a work of art can be accurately assessed only at the time of its purchase, sale or by professional valuation. The collection is not actively traded and it would not be a justifiable expenditure of public funds to maintain up-to-date professional valuations of the collection.
	
		
			Purchased price 
			 GAC3687 "Above the Village, Hewood" 1941 painting by Lucien Pissarro Purchased for £150 in 1957 
			 GAC6681 "Great Western Railway, Acton" 1907 painting by Lucien Pissarro Purchased for £575 in 1964 
			 GAC8534 "Migdale" 1939 painting by William Gillies Purchased for £42 in 1969 
			 GAC11023 "A Landscape near Cadiz" 1962 painting by Duncan Grant Purchased for £1,588 in 1974 
			 GAC13781 "Landscape, Harbour" 1975 painting by Donald Fraser Purchased for £2,200 in 1978 
			 GAC16169 "The River at Hammersmith, after Sunset" 1981 painting by Ian Caughlin Purchased for £400 in 1983 
			 GAC16333 "Sea People" 1976 painting by John Bellany Purchased for £3,150 in 1985 
			 GAC17522 "The British Museum Great Court" 5/400 2000 print by Ben Johnson Presented 
			 GAC7019 "Morning Sun" 18/50 1963 print by Bernard Cheese Purchased for £5 in 1965 
			 GAC9100 "Derive" 10/50 1964 print by S. W. Hayter Purchased for £20 in 1971 
			 GAC11186 "Sand and Sea" A/P 1973 print by Dennis Hawkins Purchased for £25 in 1974 
			 GACL341 "VI (Yellow and Blue)" 47/50 1964-1965 print by Lili Michaelis from the Portfolio 'Personnages' Purchased for £8 in 1968 
			 GAC5340 "San Moisè, Venice" 26/50 1961 print by John Piper Purchased for £12.60 in 1960 
			 GAC7322 "San Marco, Venice" 12/100 1961-1962 print by John Piper Purchased for £26 in 1965 
			 GAC8502 "San Marco I" 21/100 1966 print by Richard Beer from the Portfolio 'Mediterranean Suite' Purchased for £11 in 1969 
			 GAC12561 "Printed Fabric with Architectural Design" textile work after John Piper Purchased for £100 in 1976 
			 GAC6811 "Tower Bridge" 63/75 1964 print by Julian Trevelyan from the Portfolio 'London Suite' Purchased for £13 in 1964 
			 GAC6821 "Piccadilly Circus" 17/75 1964 print by Julian Trevelyan from the Portfolio 'London Suite' Purchased for £12 in 1964 
			 GAC7034 "Pasture" 36/50 1955 print by Michael Rothenstein Purchased for £6 in 1965 
			 GACL565 "Quarry (White Cliff)" 50/50 1955 print by Michael Rothenstein Purchase price not recorded (c. 1970) 
			 GAC7504 "Palazzo Pitti" 5/100 1965-1966 print by Julian Trevelyan from the Portfolio 'Florence Suite' Purchase price not recorded (1966) 
			 GAC13500 "Summer: the force that through the green fuse drives the flower" 1968 painting by Ceri Richards Purchased for £4,000 in 1977 
			 GAC17339 "Turn Coat" A/P 1998 print by Leigh Clarke Purchased for £200 in 1998 
			 GAC17454 "Knapweed and Mallow, Beachy Head" 1993 painting by Jeffery Camp Purchased for £1,486.38 in 2000 
			 GAC17458 "Receptacles" 1998 painting by David Leapman Purchased for £4,500 in 2000 
			 GAC10535 "London Bridge" 29/50 1973 print by Patrick Procktor Purchased for £40 in 1973 
			 GAC12036 "Le Marché de Marmande" print by Elizabeth Flowerday Purchased for £10 in 1975 
			 GAC12500 "London Bridge with St. Paul's in the Distance" print by William Wyllie Purchased for £39 in 1976 
			 GAC11781 "Ice Blue" 56/65 1972 print by Terry Frost Purchased for £45 in 1974 
			 GAC17249 "Kernow Collage" 1996 monotype/collage by Terry Frost Purchased for £1,750 in 1997 
			 GAC17250 "Newlyn Collage" 1996 monotype/collage by Terry Frost Purchased for £1,750 in 1997 
			 GACL1064 "Waves II" 37/75 print by Tadek Beutlich Purchased for £13 in 1972 
			 GAC7845 "River" 27/75 print by Tadek Beutlich Purchase price not recorded (1967) 
			 GAC8516 "Untitled (Blue, Red and Yellow)" watercolour by Andrew Smith Purchased for £10 in 1969 
			 GAC12456 "Sweet Bowl Variation" 1975 reproduction of an original work by Patrick Caulfield Purchased for £15 in 1976 
			 GAC17425 "Yellow" 33/50 1991 print by Terry Frost Purchased for £400 in 1999 
			 GAC9839 "The Foundry" print after Adolf Menzel Purchased for £7.65 in 1973 
			 GAC12865 "Pumps for Draining the Kilsby Tunnel" print by John C. Bourne from 'Drawings of the London and Birmingham Railway' (published 1839) Purchased for £40 in 1977 
			 GAC14709 "Interior at Howarth" 1977 painting by Alfred Cohen Purchased for £300 in 1970 
			 GAC15340 "I can see what's wrong with it immediately — they've forgotten the propeller!" Reproduction of a cartoon by Raymond Jackson Origin and cost unknown—found in Government building early 1980s 
			 GAC5069 "King's Parade, Cambridge" print by Edwin La Dell from the Portfolio 'Oxford and Cambridge Series' Purchased for £7.35 in 1959 
			 GAC6568 "King's Parade, Cambridge, in the Rain" 19/25 print by Edwin La Dell Purchased for £10 in 1964 
			 GAC7796 "The King of Hearts" 1949 print by Fernand Leger from the 'School Prints' series Purchase price not recorded (1967) 
			 GAC12139 "Column, 2(nd) Stage" 21/75 1970 print by Geoffrey Brunell Purchased for £50 in 1975 
			 GAC12393 "Lower Wessex Lane, Spring" 10/75 1976 print by Norman Stevens Purchased for £26 in 1976 
			 GAC12339 "Lower Wessex Lane, Summer" 20/60 1976 print by Norman Stevens Purchased for £26 in 1976 
			 GAC12310 "Lower Wessex Lane, Autumn" 7/25 1976 print by Norman Stevens Purchased for £26 in 1976 
			 GAC12341 "Lower Wessex Lane, Winter" 5/45 1976 print by Norman Stevens Purchased for £26 in 1976 
			 GAC12661 "I wonder what my heroes think of the space race" 1962 painting by Derek Boshier Purchased for £1,210 in 1976 
			 GAC17746 "The Government Art Collection Sculpture Store" 2002 painting by Andrew Grassie Purchased for £3,701.25 in 2002 
			 GAC17750 "The Pillared Room at 10 Downing Street" 2002 painting by Andrew Grassie Purchased for £3,701.25 in 2002 
			 GAC18083 "Safe Light, Reflected Ballroom" 1/4 photograph by Jane and Louise Wilson Purchased for £14,981 in 2006 
			 GAC18147 "Untitled (Artist's Impression of Eternity Chamber)" 2007 drawing by Charles Avery Purchased for £8,044 in 2007 
			 GAC18204/1-6 "Palast I — VI" 23/24 2005 Portfolio of prints by Tacita Dean Purchased for £24,328.80 (for set of six) in 2008

Non-profit Making Associations: Commonwealth Games 2014

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to encourage social enterprises to take up commercial opportunities arising out of the 2014 Commonwealth games.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Following the successful bid for Glasgow to host the Commonwealth games in 2014, the Organising Committee, Glasgow 2014 Ltd., is taking forward the delivery of the games. The Government welcome any steps it takes to encourage the involvement of social enterprises in accessing the commercial opportunities offered by the 2014 Commonwealth games. The Scotland Office will be taking forward two pieces of secondary legislation under the Scotland Act 1998 to facilitate the delivery of the 2014 games. These will protect the intellectual property rights of the games and prohibit ticket touting in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Sports: Training

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many community sport coaches have been in operation in each year since 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 30 April 2009
	 Sport England has advised that the community sports coach scheme was initially established in April 2003, and implemented from April 2004. The headline objectives were to generate 3,000 paid professional coaches working at a local level and to increase the number and range of coaching opportunities by 2006, according to strategic and local need.
	In each year since 2005 there has been the following number of community sports coaches:
	
		
			   Number of coaches 
			 2005-06 2,978 
			 2006-07 3,335 
			 2007-08 3,063

Tourism

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what Visit England's budget for tourism promotion is for 2009-10; what the budget for Enjoy England was in its last year of operation; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 27 April 2009
	Enjoy England is the marketing brand for Visit England. Visit Britain have advised that they have allocated £12 million to Visit England to promote tourism for 2009-10.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 22W, on trade unions, which trade unions are recognised by his Department's agency.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Royal Parks Agency recognises the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and Prospect.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Sudan: Internally Displaced Persons

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of new arrivals at the internally displaced persons camps in southern Darfur in the last six months; and what assessment he has made of the effects on the capacity of those camps to meet the basic needs of their residents of such arrivals.

Ivan Lewis: The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 100,000 people have been assessed as newly displaced within South Darfur in the last six months. A further 49,000 have been displaced from South Darfur to other states within Darfur. Most of these have arrived in designated IDP camps.
	In the wake of the expulsion of 13 international NGOs and dissolution of three national NGOs on 4 March 2009, a UN-Government of Sudan mission assessed the capacity of service providers in the major camps across Darfur. It concluded that due to gap-filling measures taken by the UN and other agencies, an immediate crisis had been averted, but that urgent action was needed to ensure that IDPs received life-saving services in the medium term. We are working with the Government of Sudan, the UN, other international agencies, the remaining NGOs and implementing partners to ensure that the necessary capacity is in place.

Sudan: International Assistance

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent assessment is of the effects on the humanitarian situation in Sudan of the dissolution or expulsion by the Government of Sudan of non-governmental organisations in March 2009; what gaps in humanitarian assistance consequent on the departure of such organisations from Sudan have been identified by the UN; and what recent estimate he has made of the number of people affected by such gaps.

Ivan Lewis: The report of the Joint United Nations (UN)-Government of Sudan (GoS) assessment of the impact of the expulsion of 13 international NGOs and dissolution of three national NGOs was released on 24 March 2009. It estimated that 650,000 people risked being left without full access to medical care; 692,000 without non-food items (NFIs) and shelter; over 850,000 without access to water and sanitation; and 1.1 million with disrupted food supplies. The report is available online at:
	http://ochaonline.un.org/
	On 7 April 2009, the UN presented figures to donors based on worst case scenarios if gaps were not filled. These were up to 30 per cent. higher: 1.5-2 million without any access to medical care; 1 million without access to water and sanitation; 1.1 million with disrupted food assistance during the hungry season; and 1.2 million without adequate shelter and NFIs during the rainy season. The risks of increased morbidity, mortality, malnutrition and large population movements were also reported as significant.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) will continue working with the UN and other donors to monitor GoS' commitment to fill the gaps left by the expulsions and closures, and to ensure that the international community has early warning of any significant further deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

OLYMPICS

Olympic Games 2012: Children

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what steps she is taking to enable deprived children to attend events during the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is responsible for the ticketing strategy for the London 2012 games, which will be made public in 2010.
	I have held detailed discussions with LOCOG about developing the strategy. We are absolutely committed to making sure that there are tickets for sale at affordable prices for all and for people from around the UK. Some sporting events such as the marathon and road cycling will be free to watch. In addition, LOCOG is already rolling out a network of live sites across the country from now through to 2012 for as many people as possible in the community to watch the games.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Disabled

Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether he has had discussions with other Governments about the ending of charges by airlines for passengers with pulmonary hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, muscular dystrophy and other conditions who bring personal oxygen concentrators and equipment on board airlines or who use supplemental oxygen provided by the airline;
	(2)  if he will hold discussions with airlines operating from the UK to seek to end charges made on passengers with pulmonary hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and muscular dystrophy who require in-flight supplemental oxygen provided by the airline or by themselves;
	(3)  if he will make it his policy to ensure air passengers with pulmonary hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, muscular dystrophy and other conditions are not charged by airlines for bringing on board personal oxygen concentrators or equipment or for having supplemental oxygen provided by the airline.

Jim Fitzpatrick: European regulation 1107/2006 on the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air imposes obligations on airlines with respect to the services they provide, including an obligation to carry passengers' medical equipment free of charge. However, there are no specific obligations to carry or provide oxygen in the cabin.
	To help the air transport industry to comply with its obligations under the regulation, the Department for Transport has published an updated version of its Code of Practice "Access to Air Travel for Disabled Persons and Persons with Reduced Mobility". The code was developed with input from the Civil Aviation Authority, the Health and Safety Executive, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, the devolved Administrations and aviation industry representatives. The code includes a section on oxygen which advises that air carriers may approve the carriage of small gaseous oxygen or air cylinders required for medical use, but notes that carriers will wish to ensure that these do not pose a risk to security. The code also recommends that portable oxygen concentrator devices should normally be allowed if battery powered. Where air carriers wish to supply medical oxygen to passengers on request, the code acknowledges that it would be possible to make a charge for this service to cover the provision of the oxygen.
	This is a matter which is best addressed at a European level. The Department has raised the issue of carriage of medical oxygen with the European Commission at a recent meeting of national enforcement bodies for regulation 1107/2006. The Commission is due to review the regulation in 2010.

Aviation: EU Countries

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) scheduled and  (b) inclusive tour flights there were from British airports to (a) euro zone countries, (b) Germany, (c) France, (d) Spain and (e) Italy in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Flights services are defined as scheduled or charter; inclusive tour flights are not separately identified.
	The tables show the number of scheduled and charter flights departing from British airports to euro zone (EU-27) countries, Germany, France, Spain and Italy in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Table 1. Scheduled flights from British airports to euro zone countries, Germany, France, Spain and Italy 
			  Thousand 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Euro zone (EU-27) 420.7 451.2 459.9 477.0 471.3 
			   
			 Germany 62.6 64.9 65.4 66.5 64.7 
			 France 60.2 58.3 60.2 58.8 56.7 
			 Spain 64.1 77.6 80.0 85.4 85.2 
			 Italy 38.3 42.1 39.2 43.1 40.4 
			  Source: DFT analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2. Charter f lights from British airports to euro zone countries, Germany, France, Spain and Italy 
			  Thousand 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Euro zone (EU-27) 71.4 63.6 63.1 58.7 50.7 
			   
			 Germany 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.7 0.6 
			 France 2.2 2.1 2.2 1.9 1.8 
			 Spain 2.4 2.4 2.8 2.7 2.4 
			 Italy 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.2 
			  Source: DFT analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data

Aviation: Radio Frequencies

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent estimate he has made of the level of use by private and leisure pilots of unlicensed aerodromes likely to follow the introduction of higher charges associated with the administered incentive pricing for aeronautical radio spectrum;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the effect on  (a) airlines and  (b) airline passengers using East Midlands airport of the introduction of administered incentive pricing for aeronautical radio spectrum;
	(3)  what recent assessment he has made of the effect on  (a) aviation and  (b) passenger safety of the introduction of administered incentive pricing for aeronautical radio spectrum.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Ofcom, the independent regulator for the UK communications industries, published proposals for administered incentive pricing (AIP) in its 2008 consultation 'Applying spectrum pricing to the Maritime and Aeronautical sectors'. Ofcom did not publish an Impact Assessment with this consultation, but indicated that it would do so with its second consultation on AIP. Publication of this second consultation, which will feature more detailed proposals for the implementation of AIP in the maritime and aeronautical sectors, is anticipated in spring 2009.
	We expect Ofcom's Impact Assessment to identify fully the potential effects of AIP on the maritime and aeronautical sectors.

Aviation: Safety

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of air safety standards of the incorporation of the Civil Aviation Authority into the European Aviation Safety Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority has not been incorporated into the European Aviation Safety Agency.
	The European Aviation Safety Agency drafts common safety rules in the fields in which it has competence, namely airworthiness and air operations. These rules, once formally adopted through Community procedures, are legally binding across the EU. In some areas of regulation, such as the type certification of aircraft, the agency implements the rules itself, but in most areas they are implemented and enforced by the member states' national aviation authorities (NAAs)—the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK.

Aviation: Safety

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of safety standards in the helicopter fleet servicing the UK offshore oil and gas industry; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The safety of the helicopter fleet servicing the UK offshore oil and gas industry is regulated by independent aviation safety regulators the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
	The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is investigating the fatal accident to a Super Puma helicopter, which occurred on 1 April. EASA and the CAA have closely followed the progress of the investigation and have introduced mandatory safety intervention measures, which required operators of the Super Puma helicopters to inspect and modify their aircraft. The CAA is confident that these measures are sufficient to maintain aviation safety in the light of the information available to date. Should the AAIB investigation reveal additional information, EASA and the CAA will examine that information and consider whether further steps are required.

Departmental Assets

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department last reviewed its assets and land and property holdings with a view to identifying and disposing of surpluses.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport reviews assets and land and property holdings on an ongoing basis. As and when appropriate any land or property holdings deemed surplus are promptly identified and disposed of in accordance with business needs.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in his Department are suspended; how many are suspended on full pay; for how long each has been suspended; and what the reasons are for each such suspension.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport and its Executive agencies currently have 24 employees suspended; all are on full pay while internal and/or police investigations are being conducted.
	
		
			  Reason for suspension  Period suspended for 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 27 months 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 14 months 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 14 months 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 9 months 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 6 months 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 6 months 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 19 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 15 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 15 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 13 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 11 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 10 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 10 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 9 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 6 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 5 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 4 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 4 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 4 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 3 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 2 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 2 weeks 
			 Alleged Gross Misconduct 1 week

Driving Tests: First Aid

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require candidates for the driving test to undertake training in first aid.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There are no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require candidates for the driving test to undertake specific training in first aid.
	The driving theory test contains three questions relating to first aid. These questions are drawn from two categories: Accident Handling and First Aid. Each candidate is asked two questions on accident handling and one on first aid.

Driving: Licensing

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of the new computer system to be used by post offices to renew photocard driving licences.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has negotiated a price for the provision of a customer-facing service with the Post Office. The Post Office procured a new computer system through a third party supplier for the provision of the DVLA service and services to other customers. The Post Office shared some of these costs with the agency during negotiations. These costs may not be disclosed as they are commercial in confidence.

Exeter-Yeovil Railway Line

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake an investigation of the likely effect of dualling the Exeter to Yeovil railway line on  (a) demand for services on the line,  (b) the environment and  (c) the economy of the south-west.

Paul Clark: Network Rail is already doubling the track at Axminster between Exeter and Yeovil to enable more frequent services to operate. The 2006 rail industry study identified this work would suffice to meet predicted demand for services on the line up to 2017.
	The overall demand on the line will be kept under review as part of the preparation for the Government rail output requirements for 2014 to 2019 but there is no plan to undertake an early review.

Flying Matters

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what dates since 1 January 2007  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have had (i) discussions and (ii) meetings with representatives of Flying Matters.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I gave a short address to a Flying Matters round table on The Developing World, Air Freight and Climate Change on 31 March 2008. The organisation represents a broad coalition of bodies who have an interest in supporting sustainable growth in aviation, including the business community, trade unions, tourism bodies as well as airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and others in the industry. In the course of business Ministers regularly have meetings with stakeholders from these organisations, as do officials.
	Specific official level contact with Flying Matters comprised meetings on 5 May 2007 and 5 February 2009 on a range of aviation issues and brief discussions in late 2007 and early 2008 as part of a series of regular updates to a range of stakeholders on the progress of the Climate Change Bill.

M42

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the M42 to be free of roadworks and lane closures in both directions.

Paul Clark: The current planned roadworks on the M42 are part of the roll-out of the Managed Motorways programme on the motorway box around Birmingham and its approaches. They comprise the installation of ATM between junctions 7 to 9, scheduled to be completed by December 2009, and MIDAS (Motorway Incident Detection System) between junctions 9 to 11, expected to be completed by early August 2009. The work is being carried out in sections within these locations.
	It is not possible to guarantee that any motorway will be free of roadworks and lane closures as there will always be the possibility of emergency works, for example as a result of accidents or other unforeseen incidents.
	Advance warning of any work taking place will normally be available on the Highways Agency's website, the Traffic England website and on strategic signing on potentially affected approach routes, allowing road users to plan their route accordingly.

M42

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the current roadworks on the M42 were not phased to take place after roadworks on the M1 motorway between Junctions 25 and 28 were concluded; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: To minimise disruption to road users, the Highways Agency's policy is to ensure, where possible, that concurrent roadworks are not carried out within six miles of each other. The M1 and M42 schemes comply with that policy, being over 19 miles apart.

Motorcycles: Registration

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of registering off-road bikes with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to reduce levels of antisocial behaviour; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: An inter-departmental group led by the Home Office is keeping the matter under review. Its remit is to consider the issues around the off-road use of mini-motos and similar vehicles and to pool knowledge of how those issues are being addressed.

Railways

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the transport priorities of regional development agencies take account of the results of consultation with transport users.

Paul Clark: Regions have the opportunity to provide advice to Government on their investment priorities for transport, housing and regeneration, and economic development through regional funding advice.
	The Government issued guidance on preparing regional funding advice in July 2008. This guidance stated that regional development agencies, regional assemblies, leaders' forums and local government would all have a key role to play in developing the advice, and that sub-regional partners and cities should play a role in ensuring that the advice recognised the importance of developing functional economic areas. Furthermore, the guidance stated that the regional advice would be more credible if it was based on a wide consensus, and reflected the views of the broadest range of stakeholders, including the business community, social, environmental and economic partners, and the third sector. Regional partners were also encouraged to engage the public when gathering advice on regional priorities for development.

Railways

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has issued to  (a) local authorities and  (b) regional development agencies on mechanisms for consultation with residents and other stakeholders on rail transport strategy.

Paul Clark: We have not issued any specific guidance to either local authorities or regional development agencies on their mechanisms for consultation with residents and other stakeholders specifically on rail transport strategy. We issued draft guidance in December 2008 to local authorities on preparing local transport plans starting in 2011, which includes consultation on local transport generally.

Railways: Coastal Areas

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to encourage an increase in travel to British seaside resorts by rail by  (a) tourists and  (b) business users.

Paul Clark: Promoting travel by rail to seaside resorts is primarily a matter for the train operators who run the services and the resorts who wish to attract visitors.
	In addition, in line with the Department for Transport's Community Rail Development Strategy, a number of Community Rail Partnerships promote rail services to seaside resorts in their areas when this can enhance the viability of local rail services.

Railways: Security

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the deployment of facial recognition technology on railway property.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not require the use of facial recognition technology on railway property. Along with other Departments, we are keeping this emerging technology under review. In future, it may have the potential to provide an additional tool to help protect the public. As with any such technology, however, its use for public protection would need to be proportionate and balanced with considerations of privacy. Any use would also need to be backed with appropriate safeguards and transparency for the public.

Railways: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of journeys between Torbay and London undertaken by rail; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of such journeys.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has the estimate of the number of journeys from and to Torbay as published in the National Rail Trends. In 2006-07 the number of journeys made was 788,000. However, the Department does not have any estimate of the journeys as a proportion of total between Torbay and London.
	Our aim is to give people real choices about how they travel, which means we need both a reliable, well resourced railway and properly financed roads. Our policy is to make the most of existing capacity on both road and rail and that is where the majority of our investment is focused.

Railways: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to alter the service level commitment of the First Great Western franchise agreement to increase the number of direct journeys between Paignton and London Paddington.

Paul Clark: The Secretary of State currently has no plans to alter the service level commitment of First Great Western to increase the number of direct journeys between Paignton and London Paddington.

Road Signs and Markings: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many road signs have been purchased by Milton Keynes unitary authority in each year since its inception;
	(2)  how much  (a) Milton Keynes unitary authority and  (b) all local authorities spent on road signs in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Clark: Local highway authorities are responsible under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the installation of traffic signs as necessary. The Department for Transport does not hold information either on the number of traffic signs installed by authorities, or the cost of these measures.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what major improvements have been made to the UK road network in the last 12 months.

Paul Clark: The Highways Agency completed the following major road improvements in England during the financial year 2008-09.
	
		
			  Name of scheme  County  Completed 
			 A590 High and Low Newton Bypass Lancashire April 2008 
			 A66 Long Newton Junction County Durham May 2008 
			 M25 J1b-3 Widening (Section 3) Kent July 2008 
			 A27 Southerham to Beddingham Improvement Sussex August 2008 
			 A14 Haughley New St—Stowmarket Improvement Suffolk September 2008 
			 M27 J11-J12 Climbing Lanes Hampshire September 2008 
			 M6 Carlisle to Guardsmill Extension Cumbria December 2008 
			 M62 Junction 6 Improvement Merseyside December 2008 
			 A595 Parton—Lillyhall Improvement Cumbria December 2008 
			 A38 Dobwalls Bypass Cornwall December 2008 
			 M1 Junction 6a to 10 Widening Hertfordshire December 2008 
			 M27 J3 To J4 Widening Hampshire January 2009 
			 A5117/A550 Deeside Park Junctions Improvement Cheshire March 2009 
			 A2 Bean—Cobham Phase 2 Pepperhill—Cobham Kent February 2009 
			 A69 Haydon Bridge Bypass Northumberland March 2009 
			 A419 Blunsdon Bypass Wiltshire March 2009 
		
	
	Local highway authorities in England completed the following major road improvements during the financial year 2008-09:
	
		
			  Name of scheme  Local/regional authority  Completed 
			 Ridgmont Bypass and Woburn Link Road Bedfordshire CC June 2008 
			 Tunstall Northern Bypass Stoke City Council July 2008 
			 Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor Darlington City Council August 2008 
			 A631 West Bawtry Road Improvements Rotherham MBC September 2008 
			 Glasshoughton Coal Fields Link Road Wakefield MBC October 2008 
			 A688 Wheatley Hill to Bowburn Link Durham CC October 2008 
			 Brierley Hill Access Network Dudley MBC October 2008 
			 Leeds Inner Ring Road,  Stage 7 Leeds City Council November 2008 
			 A6096 Ilkeston to Awsworth Link Road Derbyshire CC December 2008 
			 Upperton Road Viaduct Major Maintenance Scheme Leicester City Council December 2008 
			 East Leeds Link Road, Leeds Leeds City Council February 2009 
			 Scarborough Integrated Transport Scheme North Yorkshire CC February 2009 
			 A47 Earl Shilton Bypass Leicestershire County Council March 2009 
			 North West Taunton Package Somerset County Council March 2009 
			 A386 Northern Corridor Plymouth City Council March 2009 
		
	
	There are also a number of other major schemes by the Highway Agency and local highway authorities which are in construction or are due to commence this year.
	In addition to the major schemes given above, a number of minor improvement schemes (under £5 million) were completed during the financial year 2008-09 by the Highways Agency and local highway authorities on roads for which they have responsibility.
	Responsibility for the road networks in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is devolved to the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the effect of the extreme weather in winter 2008-09 on the condition of roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible; and what funding will be made available to assist with repairs.

Paul Clark: No special assessment has been made of the effect of the extreme weather incurred during 2008-09 on the condition of the network. However, the Highways Agency carries out regular network condition surveys and timely safety inspections to ensure appropriate funds are allocated to maintain the network in a safe and serviceable condition. The Highways Agency's experience is that road defects due to extreme weather are likely to be safety related, which are treated promptly as part of the routine and winter maintenance programme. Costs for treating such defects are small and are managed using the overall allocated maintenance expenditure.

Rolling Stock

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 1606-8W, on rolling stock, 
	(1)  on what date and for what reasons the decision was taken to reduce the number of new carriages scheduled to be ordered in the Rolling Stock Plan;
	(2)  which  (a) franchise areas and  (b) lines originally scheduled to receive new rolling stock under the Rolling Stock Plan will not receive new stock.

Paul Clark: No decision has been taken to reduce the number of new carriages proposed to be ordered as part of the Rolling Stock Plan. The Rolling Stock Plan published in January 2008 (revised in July 2008) showed an indicative allocation of additional carriages to individual train operators. The plan did not distinguish between new carriages and those transferred between train operators.
	543 of the 1,300 new carriages announced in High Level Output Specification (HLOS) have been ordered, with the balance to be ordered in due course.

Shipping: Pollution

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the volume of pollution attributable to shipping activities.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport works in the forum of the International Maritime Organization to develop international standards and regulations which prevent pollution from ships. The Department's Maritime and Coastguard Agency undertakes the surveillance and monitoring of the UK pollution control zone, and enforces relevant legislation in respect of UK-flagged ships and in respect of ships in waters under UK jurisdiction.

Shipping: Pollution

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the level of pollution from shipping in UK coastal waters.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Each year, the Department's Maritime and Coastguard Agency commissions the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea to prepare an "Annual survey of reported discharges attributed to vessels and offshore oil and gas installations operating in the United Kingdom Pollution Control Zone". The reports of the annual surveys are available on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's website.

Taunton-Penzance Railway Line: Electrification

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1609W, on Taunton-Penzance railway line: electrification, what conclusions were reached by the cross-industry working group; and what steps his Department plans to take in response to those conclusions.

Paul Clark: The cross-industry electrification working group led by Network Rail expects to publish its conclusions later in the year. The group's work will inform the rail industry planning process.

Taxis: Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that drivers of minicabs operating illegally are  (a) apprehended and  (b) prosecuted.

Paul Clark: In order to provide a lawful private hire vehicle service in London, it is necessary for the operator and the driver and the vehicle to be licensed by Transport for London (TfL). Responsibility for enforcing the law in respect of drivers operating illegally rests with TfL and the Metropolitan police. They carry out this responsibility jointly through the Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU).
	The Government have taken steps to facilitate the enforcement task. In 2003 regulations were made which listed taxi touting as a recordable offence, allowing for the finger-printing of offenders and the taking of DNA and photographs.

Tintwistle Hollingworth and Mottram Bypass

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1286-87W, on the Longdendale bypass, what costs have been incurred in connection with the A57/A628 Mottram to Tintwistle bypass since 13 November 2008.

Paul Clark: For the period of 13 November 2008 to 30 April 2009, the A57/A628 Mottram to Tintwistle bypass scheme has incurred costs of approximately £1,176,000.
	The costs include general project management, preparation for closure of the Public Inquiry, responding to general inquiries, project governance, staff costs, costs associated with the contract and finalising documents for the postponement of the project.

Transport: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of children travelling to school by car in the Torbay local authority area; and what steps he is taking to encourage alternative means of transport.

Paul Clark: Data collected by schools in the Torbay area via the School Census in January 2008 showed that 35.5 per cent. of children normally travelled to school by car; this included 2.9 per cent. of children who travelled in a car with children from another family.
	The Government want as many children as possible to walk, cycle or use public transport to travel to school. In 2003, we launched the "Travelling to School" project setting out how we want all schools in England to develop a school travel plan in order to reduce car use for journeys to school and allow many more children to take regular exercise. By 2010 more than £140 million will have been committed to support the project through local authority school travel advisers and capital grants to help schools implement their travel plans.
	92 per cent. of schools in Torbay already have an active school travel plan and the council is on target for every school to have a plan by March 2010. In addition Torbay council has in 2008-09 been awarded a total of £6,500 in Walking to School Initiative grants, together with funding in both 2008-09 and 2009-10 for cycle training for 1,000 children in total.

Vehicle Number Plates: Flags

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on his consultation on amendment of the Road Vehicles (Display of Registrations Marks) Regulations 2001 to permit the voluntary display of national flags.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The consultation exercise has been completed and the new rules came into force on 27 April.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Departmental Computers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many laptop computers have been provided to  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in her Department in each year since 2005; and at what cost.

Phil Woolas: Information regarding the breakdown of laptops between Ministers, special advisers and civil servants is not held centrally and to get this information would incur disproportional cost.

Departmental Data Protection

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies confidential data have been downloaded on to compact discs (i) without and (ii) with encryption in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: We do not hold these data and to obtain them would involve disproportionate costs. We are not aware of any loss of confidential data from compact discs in the last 12 months.

Departmental Data Protection

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy for her Department to sign the Information Commissioner's Personal Information Promise.

Phil Woolas: The Government have welcomed the Promise as a commendable initiative to raise awareness of the importance of effective data protection safeguards, particularly for those organisations with no similar commitments already in place.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average server capacity utilisation by each division of her Department was in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office operates a large-scale, multi-vendor supply chain delivering a wide range of ICT categories. Service capacity utilisation and the number of printers and multi-functional devices with printer capability are managed by our suppliers as part of the service offering. The information requested by the hon. Member is not therefore available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the Home Office is working towards a ratio of one printer per 20 people and work is under way to review and rationalise data centres and to convert network printers to duplex capability where practicable.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on  (a) the purchase of and  (b) bills for (i) BlackBerrys and (ii) other mobile telephones for (A) Ministers, (B) special advisers and (C) civil servants in her Department in each year since 2005.

Phil Woolas: BlackBerrys and other mobile telephone devices are supplied through our IT service providers.
	Call and data charges for UKBA users of BlackBerrys are approximately £7,800 (including VAT) per quarter. The remainder of call and data charges for BlackBerrys are sent directly to each business area and to get this information would incur disproportional cost.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) BlackBerrys and  (b) other mobile telephones have been provided to (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in her Department in each year since 2005.

Phil Woolas: Information regarding the breakdown of BlackBerrys and other mobile telephones between Ministers, special advisers and civil servants is not held centrally and to get this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which programmes funded by her Department experienced a real terms reduction in their budget for 2008-09 in comparison with 2007-08; and what the budget for each such programme was in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2006-07.

Phil Woolas: The major Home Office Programme budgets and comparisons for the years in question are set out in the Departmental Report 2008, tables 5.1 to 5.3. This report is available on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/hoannualreport08/hoannualreport2008?view=Binary

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for which financial losses her Department was granted Treasury approval in 2008-09.

Phil Woolas: All losses incurred by the Home Office during the year have been managed by the Department within the scope of authorities delegated by the Treasury. The Departmental Resource Accounts for 2008-09 are scheduled for publication in June.

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which training courses were  (a) available to and (b) taken up by (i) civil servants and  (b) Ministers in her Department in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: A wide range of internal and external training courses are available to and taken up by Home Office civil servants. Details cannot be provided without disproportionate cost. On training for Ministers in the Home Office, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer of 22 March 2009,  Official Report, column 167W.

Deportation: Zimbabwe

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will suspend all deportations of people to Zimbabwe until there is greater political stability in that country.

Phil Woolas: The court judgment on 19 November 2008 found that there is no prohibition to removing people who have no right to be here to Zimbabwe. However, the policy of Her Majesty's Government is that we will always take account of the political and humanitarian factors before doing so. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in September 2006 that we would be halting enforced returns to Zimbabwe and we are not currently enforcing the return of Zimbabwean nationals.

Immigration: Somalia

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Somali citizens are seeking  (a) asylum and  (b) leave to remain; and how many have been (i) granted indefinite leave to remain and (ii) deported in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 20 April 2009
	An integral issue in asylum policy is that claimed national citizenship and actual citizenship are often different.
	The number of Somali nationals currently seeking asylum is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	Management information indicates that as at 6 April 2009, there are 1,660 claimed Somali nationals who currently have outstanding applications for limited leave to remain in the UK. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols and may be subject to change. The figure has been rounded to the nearest five.
	The following table shows the numbers of Somali nationals granted settlement in each year from 1997 to 2007, and Somali nationals removed or departed voluntarily from the UK in each year from 1997 to 2008. Published settlement data by nationality for 2008 are not currently available; this information is due to be published in August 2009.
	National statistics on asylum applications, including grants and refusals, grants of settlement and removals and voluntary departures from the UK are published in chapters 3, 5 and 6 respectively of the Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom annual bulletins. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1008.pdf
	
		
			  Grants of settlement, removals and voluntary departures, nationals of Somalia, 1997 to 2008 
			  Number of grants/departures 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 1)  2008( 1) 
			 Grants of settlement 985 2,945 3,180 12,495 8,405 10,000 6,305 3,825 8,255 2,125 2,845 n/a 
			 Removals and voluntary departures(2, 3, 4) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 610 840 920 295 205 
			  Of  which: 
			 asylum cases, principal(5, 6) 50 40 n/a n/a 25 50 55 160 115 205 120 75 
			 asylum cases, dependants(5) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 15 20 15 5 5 
			 non-asylum cases n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 435 705 700 170 120 
			 (1 )Provisional figures. (2 )Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (3 )Includes persons departing voluntarily after notifying the UK Border Agency of their intention to leave prior to their departure, since January 1999 persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration and since January 2005 persons who it has been established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (4 )Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (5 )Persons who had sought asylum at some stage. (6 )Data for 1998 and 2001 to 2003 have been estimated due to data quality issues.

National Identity Scheme Commissioner

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 158W, on the National Identity Register: data protection, what  (a) financial and  (b) staffing resources will be available to the National Identity Scheme Commissioner to provide independent oversight of the provision of information.

Shahid Malik: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 29 January 2009,  Official Report, column 822W.
	The appointment of the Scheme Commissioner is still continuing and once the appointee has commenced the role they will discuss the resources required to undertake independent oversight.
	In accordance with the Identity Cards Act 2006 the Scheme Commissioner has the right to ask the Home Secretary for staff required to fulfil the role.

Passports: Concessions

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pensioners have received a free passport in each year since the introduction of the policy.

Shahid Malik: The introduction of free passports was announced on 19 May 2004 as a special concession for the second world war generation. Those who qualify are British nationals born on or before 2 September 1929 and therefore were old enough by the end of the war to have made a substantial contribution to the national effort.
	The scheme also included provision for a refund to be available on request to those that were eligible but applied for a passport in the period between 19 May 2004 (the date the Home Secretary announced the scheme) and 18 October (the implementation date of the scheme). Up until 31 March 2009, 18,897 refunds have been applied for and processed under this provision and are included in the volumes shown.
	For each financial year from May 2004 until the end of March 2009, the following volumes of free passports were issued:
	
		
			  Financial year  Volume issued 
			 2004-05 121,444 
			 2005-06 157,229 
			 2006-07 127,820 
			 2007-08 109,655 
			 2008-09 82,034

Vetting

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of records of offences committed outside the United Kingdom held by the UK Central Authority were made available to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and used in CRB disclosures in 2008-09; and whether there are data on categories of offences held by the UK Central Authority which may not be passed to the CRB for such use.

Shahid Malik: The UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records (UKCA-ECR) receives conviction notifications in respect of UK citizens who have been convicted of crimes in EU member states. Convictions that are recordable under the National Police Records (Recordable Offences) Regulations 2000 are added to the Police National Computer (PNC) and are therefore available to the CRB for disclosure purposes.
	Between 1 October 2008 and 31 December 2008 the UKCA-ECR received 1,166 notifications, 250 of which were for non-recordable offences. All recordable offences were added to the PNC. It is not known what percentage of these have been subsequently used in disclosures.
	Under Section 113A (3) of Part V of the Police Act 1997 criminal record certificates—standard and enhanced disclosures—must contain details of "every relevant matter" recorded in "central records". This means all convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer (PNC), including spent convictions. Any EU conviction information added to the Police National Computer by the UKCA-ECR would be included on CRB disclosures.

Vetting: Young People

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many under-18 year olds had Criminal Records Bureau checks in 2008-09.

Shahid Malik: From April 2008 to February 2009, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has issued 122,461 disclosures to applicants under the age of 18 years. Of these, 112,9933 were enhanced disclosures and 9,528 were standard disclosures.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what visits he has made to Afghanistan in the last six months.

John Hutton: I have visited Afghanistan on two occasions since my appointment as Secretary of State for Defence in October 2008.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in the last six months he has visited military personnel in hospitals.

John Hutton: Since October 2008, I have visited hospitals with military patients on three occasions.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former members of the armed forces who have applied for re-enlistment in the last 12 months are awaiting a decision; what the longest period an applicant has waited for a decision in the last five years is; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009, the Royal Navy received 1,001 Rating or RM Other Rank applications from former UK military personnel including RN, Army, RAF and former Reservists. Of these, 67 are still outstanding; 44 of which are awaiting routine requests for information on pay from the other services and 23 are pending resolution of medical queries. In the same period, there were 11 re-entrant officer applications; eight of these applicants have already re-entered service. Of the balance, one has yet to accept a job offer, one is awaiting a medical and the third's application is still being processed.
	In the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, the Army Personnel Centre completed 2,911 applications for re-enlistment. A further 1,226 applications made during that period are still pending.
	During financial year 2008-09, there were a total of 42 ex-service personnel who applied to join the RAF, 16 of whom are still waiting for a final decision. Of these 16, eight are Officers (five are waiting for training places while the remaining three are still going through the selection process) and eight are Other Ranks (all waiting for training places).
	In the Army, during the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2009, the longest period an applicant has had to wait for re-enlistment is two years 115 days. The relevant Army authorities are currently investigating the reasons behind this delay. It is not possible, within the time constraints, to determine the longest period that an individual has had to wait for a decision on a re-entry application within the RN and RAF.

Colombia: Military Aid

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has provided training to the Colombian military in counter-guerrilla operations; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1310W, to the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle). The UK has not provided specific counter-guerrilla training to the Colombian military.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made to the House on 30 March 2009,  Official Report, column 40WS, by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which he set out the UK Government's current work and future aims in Colombia.

Defence Act 1842

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the powers contained within the Defence Act 1842 have been used since May 1997.

Kevan Jones: The Defence Act 1842 includes various statutory powers. The Ministry of Defence does not record centrally each and every occasion that any one of these powers has been used, whether before or after May 1997.

EU Battlegroups

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to what exercises with European Union military formations UK armed forces are committed for the next 18 months; and in which exercises they have participated in the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: There are no standing European Union military formations, and the European Union does not conduct military exercises apart from headquarters-level planning exercises.

EU Battlegroups

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which European Union military formations UK armed forces currently have a potential obligation; and on what scale in each case.

Bob Ainsworth: There are no standing European Union military formations. All forces belong to member states until volunteered to the EU on a case-by-case basis.
	The UK has made a voluntary commitment to lead Operation Atalanta, the EU naval counter-piracy naval force off the coast of Somalia, until the end of the current mandate of 13 December 2009. The UK provides the Operation Commander and the Multinational Operation Headquarters (OHQ) at Northwood, with UK armed forces filling 49 of these OHQ posts. The UK provided HMS Northumberland from the start of the operation (8 December) to 28 February. Contribution of any further UK assets to the operation is dependent on force generation requirements and UK operational priorities, but there are currently no plans.
	The EU mission Operation Althea continues in Bosnia Herzegovina and the UK retains nine posts in the headquarters of the EU force (EUFOR) in Sarajevo.
	The ESDP mission to Chad and the Central African Republic reached the end of its mandate on 15 March 2009 and is now completing its handover to the UN follow-on force Minurcat II. Under standing augmentation procedures, the UK previously provided four staff officers to the headquarters, of whom, two now remain in post while the operation draws to a close.
	The UK has made a voluntary commitment to provide an EU Battlegroup on stand-by from January to June 2010. This will be met by forces from the Lead Commando Group element of the Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF), which will consist of forces drawn from the long-standing UK-Netherlands Amphibious Landing Force. We have also offered to provide a joint UK-Swedish Battlegroup on stand-by from January to June 2013. Battlegroups would only deploy on operations following a unanimous decision from all 27 EU member states.
	The UK Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) at Northwood is one of five national OHQs declared available for European Union (EU) military operations; the other four are at Mont Valerien (Paris), Potsdam (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Larissa (Greece).
	PJHQ will provide the OHQ building and technical and administrative support, including trained core staff, for the Nordic Battlegroup during its time as one of the two EU Battlegroups on stand-by between January and June 2011.

Future Large Aircraft

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what position the Government's delegation to the March OCCAR meeting took on adoption of the three-month moratorium on a decision on the A400M programme; and what the reasons for that position were.

Quentin Davies: The UK supported the decision to enter a 'without commitment' standstill period. Its purpose is to enable the Partner Nations and Airbus Military to explore all possible options in more detail without prejudicing the rights of either party under the existing contract.
	This additional information will inform national and joint decisions in due course.

Military Intelligence

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the acquisition of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets in each year since 1997; and what plans he has for future acquisition of such assets.

Quentin Davies: The expenditure on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets since 1997 is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Our future plans include a number of programmes which contribute to intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capability. For example, the Helix programme for airborne electronic surveillance; Dabinett for management of the direction, processing and dissemination of intelligence and for deep and persistent surveillance; and the Watchkeeper tactical unmanned aerial vehicle system. There are also programmes to invest further in Electronic Warfare systems and surveillance systems such as Sentry E-3D UK Airborne Early Warning capability and the Sea King Mk 7 Airborne Surveillance and Control variant.

Northern Ireland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what visits he has made to Northern Ireland on official business in the last 12 months.

John Hutton: I have not yet visited Northern Ireland since my appointment in October 2008. My predecessor the right hon. Des Browne did not visit Northern Ireland between May and October 2008.

Territorial Army

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Territorial Army barracks are under review following the report of the Reserves Review.

Bob Ainsworth: The Volunteer estate, which currently consists of over 2,000 sites, is a key element of the reserve forces, not only providing unit locations and training facilities but also retaining the important military footprint across the UK and the associated ability to connect with the nation. The review confirmed the importance of the Volunteer estate but noted that much of it was old, expensive, underused and located to serve the population centres of the 19th century as opposed to those of the 21st century. To ensure that the reserves have an estate that is modern, provides value for money and is correctly located to match changes in the demographics and national infrastructure, the Review recommended that the Ministry of Defence conduct a detailed requirements-based study. We will be forming a team to conduct this detailed work which will need to consider all of the estate. No decisions have been made.

Territorial Army

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army posts will be affected by the implementation of the recommendations of the review of reserves.

Bob Ainsworth: The Review does not make any recommendations on numbers of Territorial Army posts. The aim of the review was to ensure that the Reserve Forces are correctly structured to meet current and future challenges and it made a number of recommendations to achieve this. However, further work is required to determine the best means to deliver the capabilities required.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 238W, on trade unions, what office facilities his Department provides for the exclusive use of each recognised trade union; and what the notional annual value of such provision is.

Kevan Jones: Representatives for each recognised trade union and staff association or federation are provided with equipped office space in an appropriate location, including facilities to work in accordance with that provided for other staff in the buildings on site.
	The notional annual value of such provision for these facilities is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 238W, on trade unions, which trades unions his Department's agencies recognise.

Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence currently recognises the following trade unions and staff associations, which represent staff in a wide range of grades, trades and professions. This recognition applies across the Department which includes its Agencies:
	 Non-Industrial Trade Unions
	FDA
	Prospect
	PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union)
	 Industrial Trades Unions
	Unite (Amicus Section)
	Unite (Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) Section)
	GMB (General and Municipal Boilermakers)
	UCATT (Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians)
	 Staff Associations
	CPOA (Chief Police Officers Association)
	DPF (Defence Police Federation)
	ROA (Retired Officers Association)
	 Maritime Trade Unions
	Nautilus UK
	RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers)
	Medical Grades and Civilian Practitioners:
	BMA (British Medical Association)
	 Teaching Grades
	ATL (The Association of Teachers and Lecturers)
	NAHT (National Association of Head Teachers)
	NASUWT (The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers)
	NUT (National Union of Teachers)
	ASCL (Association of School and College Leaders
	 Locally Engaged Civilians Overseas
	 Germany
	Ver.di (Vereinigte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft)
	 Gibraltar
	Unite (TGWU Section)
	Unite (TGWU Section)-ACTSS (Association of Clerical Technical and Supervisory Staff)
	Prospect-GGCA (Gibraltar General and Clerical Association)
	Gibraltar Services Police Staff Association
	 Cyprus
	SEK (Federation of Government, Military and Civil Service Workers).
	PEO (Pan Cyprian Federation of Labour-Government/Military and Social Institute Servants).
	PASYDY (Pancyprian Public Servants' Trade Union).
	TURK-SEN (Turkish Cypriot Trade Union Federation)
	SBA (Sovereign Bases Abroad) Police Association.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Government of Burma on the investigation of the rape and mutilation of a schoolgirl in Kachin state on 27 July 2008.

Bill Rammell: We have not raised this specific, tragic case with the Burmese authorities. However, through our embassy in Rangoon, and in the UN's Human Rights bodies, we continue to take every opportunity to press the regime to uphold international human rights norms and protect vulnerable groups, including women and ethnic minorities.
	On 21 November 2008, the UK helped secure a UN General Assembly resolution which expressed grave concern at the continued discrimination and hardships suffered by ethnic minority groups, and the broader human rights situation in Burma. We call on the regime to adhere to its international obligations and co-operate fully with the UN special rapporteur, Thomas Ojea Quintana, who last visited Burma from 3-7 August 2008.

Christmas

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his Department's policy to offer staff  (a) additional leave entitlement for Christmas shopping and  (b) Christmas bonus payments.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office do not give staff any additional leave for Christmas shopping, nor does it pay a Christmas bonus.

Departmental ICT

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to page 131 of the 2009 Budget Red Book, what effect the savings he expects to achieve through contract negotiations with his Department's existing telecommunications supplier will have on his Department's IT services; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The contract was originally agreed in 2000. Improvements in technology since 2000 have meant the levels of service needed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) can now be delivered at lower unit cost. The negotiations referred to ensure that these lower costs are available to the FCO. The newer technologies available provide faster, more reliable services, allowing FCO staff to work more efficiently.

Departmental Security Guards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which private security companies are employed by his Department in volatile countries; what the  (a) duration and  (b) monetary value is of each contract; and what local arrangements are in place to manage each contract.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) continues to contract private security companies (PSCs) to provide guarding of our staff and missions in high-threat environments such as Iraq and Afghanistan, as follows:
	 Iraq:
	Mobile Security—Control Risks—£20,831,233 from 1 July 2007—30 June 2008.
	Static Security—Gardaworld—£5,427,186 from 1 July 2007—30 June 2008.
	Intelligence Analysts—Minimal Risks—£867,475 from 1 October 2007—30 September 2008.
	Vehicle Maintenance—Armorgroup—£606,019 from 27 February 2008—26 February 2009.
	 Afghanistan:
	Mobile Security—Armorgroup—£16,733,399 from 1 January 2008—31 December 2008.
	Static Security—Armorgroup—£2,867,228 from 1 January 2008—31 December 2008.
	Vehicle Maintenance—Armorgroup—£606,019 from 27 February 2008—26 February 2009.
	Police Mentors and Advisers—Armorgroup—£869,625 from 1 October 2007—30 September 2008.
	Primary Healthcare—Edinburgh International—£121,380 from 1 January 2008—31 December 2008.
	The values quoted relate only to the specific periods stated, and not necessarily to the entire duration of the respective contracts.
	All PSCs are subject to ongoing performance monitoring and contract management by the FCO, both in country and from the UK. The FCO monitors performance by key performance indicators, regular visits and reports by overseas security advisors, regular review meetings in London with PSCs, and monitoring expenditure against a fully profiled budget.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 518W, which asked what assessment my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made of the use of private armed security companies in volatile countries.

Entry Clearances: Sports

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 85-88WS, on departmental expenditure limits, under what circumstances UK visas are offered gratis to fans planning to visit the UK to attend sporting events; on how many occasions such visas were provided in 2007-08; and what the cost to his Department of such visas was, broken down by category of expenditure.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	Gratis visas may be issued in a range of circumstances, commonly as a matter of international courtesy. This means that the visa applicant does not pay a fee for the application to be considered but another Government Department reimburses the Home Office for the lost fee income.
	Our records show that in 2007-08 no gratis visas were issued to fans visiting the UK to attend sporting events.
	In May 2008 we accepted 2,169 short-term visit visa applications from fans of FC Zenit St. Petersburg travelling to Manchester for the UEFA Cup Final without a fee being paid by the applicant, normally £65. This was in part in recognition of the waiver of visa requirement by the Russian Government for fans of Chelsea FC and Manchester United FC travelling to the UEFA Champions League Final in Moscow later in the same month, which Manchester United won on penalties. The cost to the FCO was £104,000 in reimbursing the Home Office for lost fee income. Our records show that this is the only occasion in 2008-09 to date where gratis visas have been issued to fans visiting the UK to attend sporting events.

EU Institutions: Manpower

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what percentage of applications to each  (a) European Commission,  (b) Council of the European Union and  (c) European Parliament traineeship programme have been from UK nationals since March 1997; and what percentage of places under each such scheme have been awarded to UK nationals in the same period;
	(2)  how many UK nationals  (a) applied for and  (b) have been accepted for traineeships in each (i) European Parliament and (ii) Council of the European Union programme since March 1997.

David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office do not hold this information. The relevant data are owned by each EU Institution. The Government are clear that it is in the EU and UK's interests to have successful UK candidates working at the heart of the EU's institutions.

Intelligence Services: Equality

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of  (a) field-based and  (b) office-based Secret Intelligence Service officers were of each (a) ethnicity, (b) religious faith and (c) sex in each year since 2001.

Gillian Merron: It is Government policy not to comment on intelligence matters, including information about Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) staff numbers.
	The Intelligence and Security Committee has reported on matters relating to SIS's recruitment and staffing policies in its annual reports. Diversity issues relating to SIS were most recently covered in the 2004-05 annual report (paragraph 53, column 6510).

Iran

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his  (a) Iranian and  (b) EU counterparts on the treatment of the Baha'i and other religious minorities in Iran.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 22 January 2009
	We are deeply concerned by the treatment of the Baha'i community and other religious minorities in Iran. In particular, we have consistently voiced our concern about the continued detention without charge of the seven Baha'i leaders who were arrested in April and May 2008, and through the EU and bilaterally have made several representations to the Iranian authorities calling for their immediate and unconditional release—most recently in a public EU declaration on 26 September.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not met or spoken with his Iranian counterpart since April 2008, and last met the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister in September 2008. However, I met the Iranian ambassador on 20 November 2008, and raised our concerns about human rights issues including the draft penal code, which would impose a mandatory death sentence for apostasy.
	We, along with EU partners, will continue to press Iran to fully uphold the right to freedom of religion and to end the persecution of Baha'is in Iran.

Iran: Bahai Faith

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations his Department has made to the Government of Iran on the treatment of members of the Baha'i faith in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We take every opportunity to raise our concerns about the treatment of the Iranian Baha'is, both in bilateral and EU meetings with the Iranian Government. We have repeatedly urged them to take steps to end the persecution of religious minorities. On 18 March 2009 the EU presidency issued a declaration expressing concern about the numerous human rights violations in Iran and urged them to comply with their human rights obligations. I issued a public statement on 16 February 2009, about the imminent trial of seven leading members of the Iranian Baha'is which was strongly supported by an EU statement on 17 February 2009, calling on the Iranian Government to reconsider the charges, ensure that any trial is fair and to allow independent observation of the judicial proceedings.
	We will continue to urge the Iranian Government to take their international human rights obligations seriously including the right to freedom of religion and belief as described in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—to which Iran is a state party.

Israel: Anniversaries

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what events held in  (a) the UK and  (b) Israel to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Tel Aviv he has been invited; what such invitations he has (i) accepted and (ii) declined; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not received any invitations to events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Tel Aviv. However, our ambassador to Tel Aviv has accepted invitations to commemorate the 100th anniversary.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of persons allegedly murdered in the Gaza Strip by Hamas members since December 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: According to the Amnesty International report published in April 2009, between 27 December 2008 and 31 March 2009 there have been at least 32 extra-judicial killings which were committed by either Hamas security forces or gunmen believed to be associated with Hamas.
	The UK clearly condemns these acts of violence and will continue to call for Hamas to renounce violence.

Pakistan: Prisoners

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations has he made to the Government of Pakistan on the case of James McLintock; and on what date he most recently discussed the detention of James McLintock with his Pakistani counterpart;
	(2)  what steps the High Commission in Pakistan has taken to secure access to James McLintock.

Bill Rammell: Since we were made aware of unconfirmed reports that Mr. James McLintock had been arrested in Pakistan, officials in London and from our high commission in Islamabad, including the deputy high commissioner, have been pressing the Pakistan authorities for confirmation that Mr. McLintock is being detained and if so, for consular access to be granted. Our most recent representation was made by a senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office official directly to the Pakistani high commissioner in London on 30 April 2009.

Repatriation

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many prison places in Ilorin prison he expects to be provided under the Returns and Reintegration Fund.

Bill Rammell: We are discussing with the Nigerian Government a range of assistance to the Nigeria Prison Service through the Returns and Reintegration Fund to support reform and improve conditions. This includes equipping an uncommissioned prison in Ilorin, which has a capacity to hold around 160 inmates. Final plans on assistance are yet to be confirmed.

Western Sahara: Fisheries

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek agreement at EU level to exclude the waters off occupied Western Sahara from future fisheries agreement with Morocco.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no plans to seek agreement at EU level to exclude the waters off the undetermined territory of Western Sahara from any future fisheries agreement with Morocco.
	Future negotiations on the expiry of the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) will take into account any changes in the situation of Western Sahara that may occur before the FPA's expiry in 2011.

Western Sahara: Politics and Government

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Moroccan Government on  (a) ending the movement of members of the Moroccan civilian population into the occupied Western Sahara and  (b) the application of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Bill Rammell: We have not discussed the movement of population between Morocco and Western Sahara, or the application of article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention, and have no current plans to discuss either matter with the Moroccan Government.
	The Government see the status of Western Sahara as undetermined and continue to believe that progress towards a negotiated solution to the dispute, providing for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, is best achieved under the auspices of the UN. To this end the UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross.

Yvonne Fletcher

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last had discussions with the Libyan Government on bringing to justice those responsible for the death of WPC Yvonne Fletcher.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the investigation into the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher when he met with the then Libyan Foreign Minister, Abdurrahman Shalgam on his visit to London in January 2008. I also raised the investigation into WPC Fletcher's murder with the Libyan Minister for Europe last month and again when I visited Libya in February this year. Officials also continue to raise the failure of Libya to allow the Metropolitan Police to complete its investigations in Libya.
	Securing full Libyan co-operation with the Metropolitan Police Service investigation into this murder continues to be a key objective in our relations with Libya.
	In all our conversations with the Libyan Government on the investigation into the murder of WPC Fletcher, we make it clear that they made a commitment to co-operate fully with the Metropolitan Police Service's investigation. The Government will continue to demand co-operation from the Libyan authorities and insist that they allow the Metropolitan Police to return to Libya to continue their investigation.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: Conferences

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many UK Ministers and officials attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan on 13 December 2008; and what method of transportation each used.

Joan Ruddock: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Poznan in December 2009, known as the 14th Conference of the Parties (or COP14) was attended by two Ministers and 45 officials. Delegates attended from different Departments across Whitehall to ensure the full range of issues could be addressed by UK experts. Of the total, 33 delegates attended from the Department of Energy and Climate Change
	The Ministers in attendance were Secretary of State Ed Miliband, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Joan Ruddock.
	The 47 delegates travelled to and from Poznan in the following proportions:
	
		
			   Number 
			 By air to Warsaw and rail to Poznan 16 
			 By air to Poznan, including both Ed Miliband and Joan Ruddock 30 
			 By rail from the British embassy in Warsaw 1 
		
	
	All emissions resulting from DECC's international commitments are offset. In April 2006 the UK developed a Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) as part of the wider UK Sustainable Development Strategy to meet the commitment to offset emissions arising from official and ministerial air travel.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 404W, on the economic situation, what estimate he has made of the carbon cost of the meeting of energy and oil Ministers in London on 18 and 19 December 2008; and whether his Department took steps to offset such carbon expenditure.

Mike O'Brien: The Department has made no estimate of the carbon cost of the meeting of international energy and oil Ministers in London on 18 and 19 December 2008. No specific steps were taken by the Department to offset this impact. I have no information on the extent to which participants may have taken steps themselves to offset the carbon impact of their attendance at the meeting.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many grant applications were received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in respect of  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals and  (c) other public buildings in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) England in each year since the scheme began.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 27 April 2009
	The number of grant applications received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme from  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals and  (c) other public buildings in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) England in each year since the scheme began is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 
			  Communities 
			  Number of applications 
			   England  Lancashire  Ribble Valley 
			  2006-07
			 Schools 35 0 0 
			 Other Public Buildings 11 0 0 
			 
			  2007-08
			 Schools 1 0 0 
			 Other Public Buildings 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Stream 2A (£100,000 and below) 
			  Number of applications 
			   England  Lancashire  Ribble Valley 
			  2007-08
			 Schools 26 2 0 
			 Hospitals 1 1 1 
			 Other Public Buildings 10 1 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Stream 2B (£1 million and below) 
			  Number of applications 
			   England  Lancashire  Ribble Valley 
			  2006-07
			 Schools 1 0 0 
			 Other Public Buildings 1 0 0 
			 
			  200 7 -0 8
			 Schools 1 0 0 
			 Hospitals 1 0 0 
			 Other Public Buildings 5 1 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 
			  £ 
			Ribble Valley constituency  Lancashire  England 
			 Schools 2007-08 0 178,252.93 1,834,958.47 
			  2008-09 0 95500.74 6,384,981.34 
			 Sub-total  0 273,753.67 8,219,939.81 
			  
			 Hospitals 2007-08 0 0 141809.06 
			  2008-09 0 52,439.50 52439.5 
			 Sub-total  0 52439.5 194248.56 
			  
			 Other public buildings 2007-08 0 137,475.14 4,363,527.85 
			  2008-09 0 748,872.26 11,531,758.43 
			 Sub-total  0 886,347.40 15,895,286.28 
			 Total  0 1,212,540.57 24,309,474.65

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many grants have been made through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme to  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals and  (c) other public buildings in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) England in each year since the scheme began.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 27 April 2009
	The following grants have been made through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme from  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals and  (c) other public buildings in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) England in each year since the scheme began:
	
		
			  Low carbon buildings programme phase 1 
			   England  Lancashire  Ribble Valley 
			   No applications  Grant offered (£)  No applications  Grant offered (£)  No applications  Grant offered (£) 
			  Communities   
			  2006-07   
			 Schools 22 307,037.27 0 0 0 0 
			 Other public buildings 9 160,069.62 0 0 0 0 
			
			  2007-08   
			 Schools 2 40,932.00 0 0 0 0 
			 Other public buildings 7 137,493.65 0 0 0 0 
			
			  Stream 2A (£100,000 and below)   
			  2007-08   
			 Schools 13 341,272.65 0 0 0 0 
			 Hospitals 1 8,696.54 1 8,696.54 1 8,696.54 
			 Other public buildings 4 198,858.80 0 0 0 0 
			
			  S tream 2B (£1 million and below)   
			  2006-07   
			 Schools 1 194,000.00 0 0 0 0 
			 Other public buildings 1 273,863.00 0 0 0 0 
			
			  2007-08   
			 Schools 1 175,000.00 0 0 0 0 
			 Other public buildings 4 629,226.00 1 197,052.00 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Low carbon buildings programme phase 2 
			  £ 
			   Ribble Valley constituency  Lancashire  England 
			 Schools 0 273,753.67 8,219,939.81 
			 Hospitals 0 52,439.5 194,248.56 
			 Other public buildings 0 886,347.40 15,895,286.28

Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of grant applications received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme from the London borough of Bexley have been successful in each year since the scheme began; and how much has been paid in such grants in each year.

Mike O'Brien: The number of grant applications received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme from the London borough of Bexley which have been successful in each year since the scheme began; and how much has been paid in such grants in each year are as shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of grants offered  Grant amount (£)  Number of grants paid  Payment amount (£) 
			 2006-07 8 7,072.47 6 6,290.00 
			 2007-08 5 4,100.00 3 3,300.00 
			 2008-09 1 400.00 0 0.00 
			 2009-10 1 400.00 0 0.00 
			 Total 15 11,972.47 9 9,590.00 
		
	
	The Energy Saving Trust only hold data by local authority area for domestic grants and so non-domestic grants are not included in the data.
	However under Phase 2 of the scheme there has been one application from the London borough of Bexley which has also been successful in obtaining a grant of £64,000.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many grant applications have been received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in respect of  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals and  (c) other public buildings in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each year since the scheme began.

Mike O'Brien: The number of grant applications that have been received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in respect of  (a) schools,  (b) hospitals and  (c) other public buildings in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each year since the scheme began are tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 
			   Communities 
			   Hertfordshire  Hemel Hempstead 
			  2006-07  Number of applications  Grant offered (£)  Number of applications  Grant offered (£) 
			 Schools 1 3,000.00 0 0 
			 Other public buildings 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 
			  £ 
			Hemel Hempstead  Hertfordshire 
			 Schools 2007-08 12,054.17 99,681.32 
			  2008-09 0 106,725.66 
			 Hospitals 2007-08 0 0 
			  2008-09 0 0 
			 Other public buildings 2007-08 0 90,820.37 
			  2008-09 55,740.00 139,925.63 
			 Total  67,794.17 437,152.98

Nuclear Power: Finance

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what cost recovery will be applied to operators of nuclear plants in respect of the proportion of the public investment in new transmission links relating to distribution of nuclear generated electricity arising from the programme for uplifting national infrastructure set out at paragraph 3.31 of the Government document New Industry, New Jobs, published on 20 April 2009.

Mike O'Brien: The costs for providing grid infrastructure for all forms of electricity generation, including nuclear are recovered from generators via National Grid's charging methodology at:
	http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/Charges/

Nuclear Power: Finance

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the subsidy to support low carbon energy industries under the fund announced in the New Industry, New Jobs programme on 20 April 2009 is available to support nuclear energy projects.

Mike O'Brien: On 22 April, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £750 million Strategic Investment Fund to support advanced industrial projects of strategic importance. £250 million of this fund will be earmarked for low carbon investments. Decisions on how his will be spent will be made in the coming weeks.
	Government acknowledge the role of nuclear power in the global move to a low carbon economy. Government anticipate helping to ensure business in the UK is able to make the most of the opportunities available in low carbon industries, including the global civil nuclear industry, by supporting strategic investments, including by using allocations from the fund where appropriate. This forms part of the Government's Low Carbon Industrial Strategy.

Parliamentary Questions: Government Responses

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to answer question 246697, tabled by the right hon. Member for Wokingham on 12 January 2009, on attendance at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan.

Joan Ruddock: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave today to his question 246697.

Renewable Energy

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of homes he estimates will be supplied with electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.

Mike O'Brien: The UK renewable energy strategy consultation document set out scenarios for deployment of renewable energy needed to meet the UK's share of the EU renewable energy target. The central scenario presented in the consultation document:
	www.berr.gov.uk/renewableconsultation
	suggested that the UK might need to produce around 32 per cent. electricity demand by 2020.
	Total energy demand for the domestic sector in 2020 (around 30 million homes) was estimated at the time of the consultation to be around 105 to 110TWh, around 28.5 per cent. electricity demand.
	In reality households will receive their electricity from a mixture of fuel types and not all renewable electricity generated will be supplied to domestic households. These figures will be updated in the renewable energy strategy.

Renewable Energy

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of homes are supplied by electricity from renewable energy sources.

Mike O'Brien: In 2007, the UK generated 19,664 GWh of electricity from renewable sources, sufficient for around 4.2 million homes, based on the average household electricity consumption of 4,670 KWh (just over 16 per cent. of UK homes).
	In reality households will receive their electricity from a mixture of fuel types and not all renewable electricity generated will be supplied to domestic households.

Warm Front Scheme

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many times his Department's officials have discussed complaints made by the hon. Member for Bassetlaw about Warm Front with Eaga  (a) by telephone,  (b) by electronic and written correspondence and  (c) in meetings.

Joan Ruddock: The Department has not discussed such complaints with Eaga by means of written or electronic correspondence and does not record phone calls made to Eaga. Such complaints, however, have been discussed on two occasions in meetings between officials and Eaga and as my hon. Friend is aware he and I met to discuss these issues on April 30.

Warm Front Scheme

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2009,  Official Report, column 933W, on the Warm Front scheme, when he expects his Department's review of the eligibility criteria for the Warm Front scheme to be concluded.

Joan Ruddock: A number of changes to the Warm Front scheme were announced on 23 April, including increases to the maximum grants—from £2,700 to £3,500 for those properties on the gas grid, and from £4,000 to £6,000 for harder to treat properties off the gas grid.
	A review of fuel poverty policies is currently under way with initial findings expected in early summer. The review is examining whether we can make existing fuel poverty policies more effective, including exploring whether we can identify and target assistance at the most vulnerable households more effectively.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Departmental Responsibilities

John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what contribution his Department's Energy and Climate Change Unit has made to the development of Government policy on energy in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what the  (a) remit and  (b) budget of his Department's Energy and Climate Change Unit is for 2009-10;
	(3)  what arrangements are in place to ensure the effective co-ordination of activities between his Department's Energy and Climate Change Unit and the Department for Energy and Climate Change;

Patrick McFadden: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is responsible for energy and climate change policy. The Energy and Climate Change Unit in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was set up in autumn 2008 following the formation of the new DECC. BERR has a remit to work within Whitehall as the 'voice for business' on all policy areas where business might have an interest. The Unit therefore works closely with DECC and other Whitehall Departments to ensure that business views are fully taken into account in the development of energy and climate change policies. The Unit represents BERR interests on cross-departmental groups, led by DECC, tasked with delivering the Government's energy and climate change objectives. The Climate Change Projects Office is also located within the Unit and promotes UK private sector involvement and opportunities in the international carbon market.
	The 2009-10 administration costs budget for the Unit is being finalised at present. Programme requirements will be met from the Department's business sponsorship budget.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 952W, on home information packs, how many notifications the Office of Fair Trading has received of penalty charge notices being issued in relation to home information pack duties; and in respect of which local authority areas.

Gareth Thomas: In general terms, and subject to transitional arrangements, under the provisions of the Housing Act 2004 estate agents have been required to commission a Home Information Pack (HIP) prior to marketing a property.
	A local authority can serve a penalty charge notice (PCN) on the estate agent if they fail to comply with these duties. The local authority is required to advise the OFT of any PCN it issues. However it is not required to notify the OFT of every infringement it detects or other types of enforcement action it has taken such as advice, verbal or written warnings etc.
	The OFT was notified of one PCN that had been issued, but this was subsequently withdrawn by the issuing authority.
	The OFT is aware that other enforcement action has been taken by local authorities in relation to duties under the HIPs regime but that did not result in PCNs being issued. This information will be held by individual services and has not been formally reported to the OFT.

Post Offices: Bank Services

Kate Hoey: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what the percentage split of profits arising from the joint venture between Post Office Ltd and the Bank of Ireland is.
	(2)  what cash profit Post Office Ltd has made as a result of the joint venture with the Bank of Ireland.

Patrick McFadden: These are operational and commercial matters for Post Office Ltd.
	I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of Post Office Ltd., to reply direct to my hon. Friend. Copies of the letters will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Rover Group

Peter Luff: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much the Companies Act investigation into MG Rover had cost on the latest date for which figures are available; when he expects the investigation to be completed; what estimate he has made of the total cost of the investigation; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The total cost of the Rover inquiry as at 31 March 2009 was £15,191,376 (broken down as £12,502,416 in costs, £447,406 in disbursements and £2,241,554 in VAT).
	As is normal in Companies Act inspections the inspectors were not given a specific target date for the completion of their investigation, nor are they working to a pre-determined financial ceiling. Either might restrict the depth and thoroughness of their inquiry.

Royal Mail

Frank Dobson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which  (a) organisations and  (b) individuals are advising (i) the Secretary of State and (ii) Royal Mail on the proposed part-privatisation of Royal Mail.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 29 April 2009
	 UBS, Freshfields and Deloitte are advising my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State on this matter and Rothschild and Slaughter and May are advising Royal Mail.
	There are no individuals advising either the Government or Royal Mail.

Short-Time Working

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent estimate he has made of the number of  (a) businesses that are operating short-time working practices and  (b) people on short-time working.

Patrick McFadden: The information is as follows:
	 (a) Data on businesses that are operating short-time working practices are not centrally collected because businesses do not have to inform Government of changes in their terms and conditions of employment.
	 (b) Estimates of the number of people on short-time working can be made from the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey. In Quarter 4 (October to December) 2008 around 60 thousand UK employees are estimated to be on short-time working practices. This represents 0.2 per cent. of all UK employees.
	This estimate defines short-time working as the number of employees whose actual hours worked, when surveyed, were fewer than their usual hours worked due to economic causes.

Telephone Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what powers Ofcom has to  (a) investigate and  (b) take action in respect of inaccurate claims made by telephone service provider sales staff in relation to the transfer of existing numbers associated with the BT Call Sign service.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 24 April 2009
	 The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to my hon. Friend. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Trading Funds

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will place in the Library a copy of the Trading Funds Assessment.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 30 April 2009
	 The findings of the Trading Funds Assessment were made public on the 21 April 2009 with the publication of the final report of the Operational Efficiency Programme:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/oep_final_report_210409_pu728.pdf

Written Questions: Government Responses

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to answer question 259782, on the Aspire Fund, tabled on 24 February 2009.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 23 March 2009
	 I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1063W.

TREASURY

Banks: Finance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many documents his Department received from  (a) Lloyds Banking Group and  (b) RBS as a result of their participation in the Asset Protection scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: In the course of negotiating participation in the Asset Protection scheme (APS) and in the associated due diligence and information gathering, some 5,000 documents have been provided from participating banks as of 20 April.
	In completing the due diligence process and establishing the operation of the scheme we expect further documents from the banks.

Child Care Tax Credit

Maria Miller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding was allocated for the child care element of the working tax credit in each year since 2003; and how much has been spent from that allocation in each such year.

Angela Eagle: The child care element is an integral part of tax credits. There is no separate funding allocation for the child care element of working tax credits but information on the average amount of help awarded and the number of families benefiting from the child care element can be found in table 2.4 of the HMRC publications, "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards", for 2003-04 to 2006-07. These publications can be found on the HMRC website at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
	Figures for 2007-08 will be available in May 2009.
	Information on the total amount spent each year by HMRC on tax credits can be found in its annual departmental reports which are available on its website at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/reports.htm

Coins: Forgery

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Royal Mint has made of the number of counterfeit £1 coins in circulation.

Ian Pearson: The most recent survey conducted by the Royal Mint found that its sample contained a £1 coin counterfeit rate of 2.58 per cent.

Cost Effectiveness

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of progress on the Operational Efficiency programme.

Yvette Cooper: The final report of the Operational Efficiency Programme was published on 21 April 2009 and it is available on the following website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/vfm_operational_efficiency.htm
	As announced in the Budget 2009 document, the Government accept the recommendations of the Operational Efficiency Programme and all Departments will be working to implement and deliver the additional value for money savings identified through the programme.

Departmental Bank Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 91W, on departmental bank services, what the  (a) purpose and  (b) monetary value is of each contract between his Department and each of the banks listed in the answer.

Ian Pearson: HM Treasury has contracted with those banks for the provision of financial advice during the financial year 2008-09.
	Figures for the Treasury's spending in 2008-09 will be available in the Department's resource accounts 2008-09 after the conclusion of the Comptroller and Auditor General's audit.

Economic Growth

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 22 April 2009,  Official Report, column 237, what the evidential basis is for the statement that he expects the economy to start growing towards the end of 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: A detailed assessment of economic prospects including those relating to GDP growth in the UK is set out in chapter B of the 2009 Financial Statement and Budget Report (HC 407).

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue to the Exchequer from the 2 per cent. increase in alcohol duty in each of the next three years.

Angela Eagle: HM Revenue and Customs publishes estimates of the revenue effects of alcohol duty rate changes on its website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-6.pdf

Financial Services Authority

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answers of 25 March 2009,  Official Report, column 406W, on financial services: standards to question  (a) 265933,  (b) 265929,  (c) 265934,  (d) 265922,  (e) 265925,  (f) 265927,  (g) 265924 and  (h) 265926, when he expects the Financial Services Authority to write to the hon. Member for Putney.

Ian Pearson: I understand that the FSA has recently replied to the hon. Member.

Government Departments: Assets

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what guidelines govern the procedures by which  (a) Government Departments and  (b) Executive agencies are permitted to insure their assets;
	(2)  whether  (a) Government Departments and  (b) Executive agencies are permitted to carry forward reserves held as contingency sums as an alternative to the insurance of assets.

Yvette Cooper: The principles behind the Government's approach to insurance are explained in sections 4.4 and 5.2 of "Managing Public Money", the Government's guide to proper standards of conduct in the treatment of public funds (see www.hm-treasury.gov.uk). There is a general guide to treatment of risk at section 4.3 of the same document.

Loans: Debts

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of personal loan accounts were in reportable arrears in each quarter to date since 1997.

Gareth Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not hold these data.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which categories of  (a) housebuilder and  (b) low carbon sustainable homes will be eligible for support from the £100 million of new capital being made available under Chapter 5, section 5.76 and Chapter 7, section 7.17 of the 2009 Budget Report.

Angela Eagle: Budget 2009 provided up to £100 million for local authorities over two years to deliver new social housing at higher energy efficiency standards. The funding will be allocated via a competitive bidding process, which will be open to all local authorities in England. The Homes and Communities Agency will set out criteria for bids shortly, including meeting the energy efficiency commitment.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Billericay of 23 March 2009 on his constituent, Mr D. Randall.

Stephen Timms: There is no record of receipt of this correspondence at HM Treasury. Copies have been requested from the hon. Member's office and will be dealt with as soon as possible on receipt.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Billericay of 12 March 2009 on his constituent, Mr Gray.

Ian Pearson: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Billericay of 13 March 2009 on his constituent, Mrs N. Finlay.

Stephen Timms: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Mortgages

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on the amount of mortgage lending which has funded  (a) new build,  (b) mortgages for first-time buyers and  (c) high loan-to-value ratio mortgages in the last (i) six and (ii) 12 months.

Ian Pearson: The Council of Mortgage Lenders publishes data relating to the mortgage market, including the number and value of loans to first-time buyers and average loan-to-value ratios, available at:
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/statistics
	These figures are published on a monthly basis.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations his Department has received from the motor trade on the effect on car dealers of the provisions in the Finance Act 2008 specifying that only registered owners of vehicles can apply for rebates of vehicle excise duty; and what estimate has been made by his Department of the costs to the motor trade of those provisions.

Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.
	As detailed in my answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 104W, by advising their customers to take the tax disc for a refund when selling a car into the trade, car dealers can preserve the financial benefit of Vehicle Excise Duty refunds for all parties.
	The Treasury does not expect to receive additional revenue as a result of this change.

Public Expenditure

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to reintroduce historic accounting systems for Government expenditure; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Since the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting in 2001-02, Government expenditure has been reported in resource accounts that conform to generally accepted accounting practice, subject to such adaptations as are necessary, as required under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. Resource accounts are prepared applying the historical cost convention, modified by the revaluation of fixed assets to fair value. Where material, current asset investments and stocks are similarly valued as determined by the relevant accounting standards. On the switch to reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards from 2009-10, modified historical cost accounting will be maintained.

Public Expenditure

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what predicted Government expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product is in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14.

Yvette Cooper: Public sector expenditure projections for the years 2009-10 to 2013-14, as a percentage of gross domestic product, are shown in table C5 of the Budget 2009 document.

Public Sector: Land

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what public sector land will be made available for development, as referred to in paragraph 5.78 of the Budget 2009 Red Book.

Angela Eagle: The Housing Green Paper 'Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable', published in July 2007, announced the Government's target to deliver 200,000 new homes on surplus public sector land by 2016. Government are on track to meet the target. The Surplus Public Sector Land programme, overseen by Communities and Local Government and managed by the Homes and Communities Agency, has been set up to identify where and when this land becomes available.
	Information on what surplus public sector land is available for development is available through two main sources:
	1. The Register of Surplus Public Sector Land, managed by the Homes and Communities Agency, provides a quarterly publication of sites that are owned by central Government Departments and their agencies. Currently over 700 sites, covering about 5,000 hectares of land, were listed in the most recent quarterly report published in March 2009. This report is available on the Homes and Communities Agency website at:
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/Surplus_public_sector_land
	2. The National Land Use Database of Previously Developed Land (NLUD-PDL), completed annually by individual local authorities, records previously developed land that may be available for redevelopment within their area. In 2007, NLUD-PDL recorded an estimated 62,130 hectares of land, of which just over a quarter was owned by local authorities and other public bodies. The 2007 NLUD report can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/945914.pdf

Research and Development Tax Credit

Ian Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies operating in the UK's life sciences sector have received research and development tax credits in each of the last three years; and what proportion of those were  (a) large companies and  (b) small and medium-sized enterprises.

Angela Eagle: The most recent National Statistics on R and D tax credits, published on the HMRC website on 19 December 2008, cover financial years up to 2006-07.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/randdtcmenu.htm
	Information on claims for R and D tax credits by companies operating in the life sciences sector is not available because the data are broken down by industry sector using the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (SIC), and life sciences are not identified as a separate sector in this classification.

Social Security Benefits

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) the basic state pension,  (b) single pensioners' means tested benefit,  (c) child benefit for up to two children,  (d) incapacity benefit and  (e) jobseeker's allowance or income support for a person (i) under 25 and (ii) over 25 years old was in (A) nominal and (B) real terms in each year since 1983; and what the percentage change in each was from each year to the next.

Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply.
	The available information on benefit rates up to 2008-09 has been placed in the Library. This includes child benefit rates from 5 January 2009, as announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report. Real-terms rates are presented in April 2008 prices.
	Benefit rates which came into effect on 6 April 2009 are shown in the following table. It is not possible to present the real-terms rates in April 2009 prices at this time as the April 2009 Retail Price and ROSSI index figures will not be published until 19 May 2009.
	
		
			  Benefit  April 2009 rate (actual rate) (£) 
			 Basic State Pension (Single pensioner)(1,2) 95.25 
			 Basic State Pension (Couples aged 60 and over)(1,3) 152.30 
			 Pension Credit (single person aged 60 and over)(4) 130.00 
			 Pension Credit (couples aged 60 and over)(4) 198.45 
			 Incapacity Benefit(5) 89.80 
			 Income Support (single claimant aged 18 to 24)(6) 50.95 
			 Income Support (single claimant aged 25+)(6) 64.30 
			 Income Support (couple both aged 18+)(6) 100.95 
			 (1) The rates quoted are standard rates for those with full qualifying contributions records. (2) Man or woman under 80 on own insurance. 0.25 addition for over 80-year-olds. (3) This is the rate where the wife's state pension is based on the husband's contributions. Where it is based on her own contributions, the state pension will be twice that of a single pensioner if both individuals are entitled to 100 per cent. state pensions. 0.25 addition for over 80-year-olds. (4) For all pension ages. Excludes all premiums other than pensioner premium. (5) Long term IB rate for a single person aged 16+. (6) The rates quoted are standard rates. There are also additional payments for dependent child(ren), disability, caring responsibilities, etc.  Note: JSA rates are the same as those for income support.

Tax Allowances: Housing

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people in  (a) Wales,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Northern Ireland and  (d) England claim tax relief under the furnished holiday letting rules; and what the amount claimed was in each of the last two years;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the repeal of the furnished holiday letting rules from April 2010 on those claiming tax relief under those rules.

Ian Pearson: We estimate that the amount claimed under the Furnished Holiday Lettings rules in 2006-07, the last full year for which information is available, was £15 million.
	In 2006-07 15,000 individuals offset losses from furnished holiday lettings in the UK against income from other sources and capital gains with an average tax benefit of £1,000 per annum.
	HM Revenue and Customs do not have information on the location of furnished holiday lettings within the UK.

Tax Avoidance

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue which has accrued to the Exchequer directly attributable to the introduction of IR35 measures.

Angela Eagle: The revenue resulting from the intermediaries legislation (also known as IR35) arises from a number of elements: voluntary compliance with the legislation; the deterrent effect where those who might otherwise disguise employment income through incorporation decide not to; and HMRC compliance activity.
	HMRC do not routinely collect data in respect of specific types of employers from PAYE returns and it is not possible to measure the deterrent effects. It is therefore not possible to estimate the total revenue accrued to the Exchequer as a result of this legislation.

Tax Havens

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the annual increase in revenue to the Exchequer which would otherwise have been forgone in tax avoidance as a result of the implementation in the UK of the G20 agreement on tax havens.

Stephen Timms: The actions agreed at the G20 London summit were focused on addressing tax evasion by increasing the exchange of information between tax authorities. Once the tax information exchange agreements called for by the G20 are in operation, HMRC will be better able to assess tax liability of UK residents who have income arising offshore. No such estimate has been made so far.

Taxation: Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of housing sector receipts as a percentage of  (a) total taxation receipts and  (b) gross domestic product in each of the next three years.

Ian Pearson: Box C3 in Budget 2009 provides details of housing and financial sector receipts. Taxes such as capital gains tax and inheritance tax will reflect both housing and financial sector assets. Stamp duty will reflect shares, housing and commercial property.
	Table 2.9 in Budget 2009: the economy and public finances—supplementary material provides projections for stamp duty, inheritance tax, capital gains tax up to 2013-14 and total receipts. This is available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/Budget2009/bud09_econfinances_968.pdf
	Table C1 in the Budget provides projections of money GDP up to 2013-14. This is available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/Budget2009/bud09_chapterc_463.pdf

Taxation: Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions he made on  (a) house prices and  (b) numbers of new build (i) starts and (ii) completions in reaching the estimates on housing sector receipts in each of the next three years set out in the Budget 2009 Red Book.

Angela Eagle: Receipts related to the housing market are determined primarily by the levels of property transactions and prices. The assumptions for both are set out in paragraphs B77 and C52 in the Budget document. For the purposes of the fiscal forecasts house prices are assured to move in line with the average of independent forecasts.

Taxation: Second Homes

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the cost to UK residents with property holdings in the European Economic Area outside the UK of the extension of the furnished holiday lettings rule to such properties.

Ian Pearson: It was announced at the Budget that the furnished holiday letting (FHL) rules would be repealed with effect from 6 April 2010. Until the repeal takes effect the FHL rules will be regarded as extending to those with qualifying FHLs elsewhere in the European Economic Area.
	There will be no tax cost to UK residents with property holdings in the European Economic Area outside the UK from the extension of the furnished holiday lettings rules to such properties.

Welfare Tax Credits: Short-Time Working

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of workers on short-time working who are eligible for tax credits.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is not available.

JUSTICE

Departmental Costs

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the effect of the recession on the costs of running his Department's estate.

Maria Eagle: The cost of running the Department's estate is regularly reviewed to ensure we achieve excellent Value for Money. Changes to these costs are not attributable to the recession alone and are linked to prevailing economic conditions at the point when leases are reviewed.

Land Registration Fees

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consultation he has undertaken with the property, retail and business sectors on the increase in land registration fees to take effect on 6 July 2009.

Michael Wills: The Order implementing the change in the fees structure was made following consultation with the Land Registration Rules Committee, which includes representatives of property groups and the Business User and Small Firms Business Groups.

Prisoners: Literacy Skills

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to provide literacy skills to functionally illiterate prisoners.

David Hanson: Developing literacy and numeracy of prisoners is a key part of the Government's strategy to reduce reoffending. We have implemented the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service which in the academic year 2007/08 saw prisoners, assessed as having a literacy need, enrol on to a total of 50,936 accredited literacy courses.

Legal Aid

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the effect of the economic downturn on levels of public expenditure on legal aid.

Shahid Malik: We are closely monitoring trends in legal aid expenditure. We are taking action to help people affected by the recession. An extra £13 million has been made available to help 70,000 more people with debt and housing problems, and the Housing Possession Court Duty scheme is helping more than 2,800 people each month. The civil eligibility limit has been raised by 5 per cent. from the start of the financial year. These measures have been funded from existing resources.

Prison Population

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the size of the prison population; and what percentage of that population is comprised of foreign nationals.

David Hanson: On 1 May 2009 the prison population was 82,868. The foreign national prisoner population equates to just under 14 per cent. of the total population.
	Independently produced data suggest that at 14 per cent. England and Wales has significantly fewer foreign nationals in prison than the rest of Europe.

Legal Services

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress his Department has made in establishing alternative business structures for the provision of legal services.

Bridget Prentice: Legal disciplinary practices, the first step towards full alternative business structures (ABS), have been permitted since 31 March. The Legal Services Board (LSB) will be consulting on ABS later this month, and is keen for the first ABS licences to be issued in 2011. We are working with the LSB to support this timetable.

Prisons: Market Testing

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the deadline is for the submission of bids for the market testing of prisons in Wellingborough and Birmingham; and when he expects decisions on those bids to be announced.

David Hanson: It is expected that the deadline for the submission of bids for the market testing of prisons in Wellingborough and Birmingham will be November 2009 with award notices for both prisons expected to be issued in February 2010. Bids will be considered from public, private and third sector providers.

Family Courts

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what timetable has been set for implementation of his proposals for greater transparency in the family courts; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 38WS.

Human Trafficking Offences

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what sentencing guidance his Department provides to judges who preside over human trafficking cases.

Maria Eagle: It is the responsibility of the independent Sentencing Guidelines Council to issue sentencing guidelines for criminal offences. In May 2007, the SGC issued a guideline on trafficking into the UK for purposes of sexual exploitation and will consider developing guidelines for people trafficking more generally. The Government's aim are to make the UK a hostile environment for trafficking and protect victims and potential victims from this abhorrent crime.

Electoral Administration

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of standards of electoral administration in the UK, with particular reference to postal voting.

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of electoral administration in the UK.

Michael Wills: The Electoral Commission published its performance standards for returning officers on 16 March 2009. The standards cover all aspects of the work of ROs, including the processes they have in place to identify and deal with any instances of electoral malpractice. The Commission will publish details of ROs performance across the whole of Great Britain in autumn of 2009.

Electoral Administration

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make an estimate of the number of people unable to vote on a Thursday as a result of their work or child care commitments.

Michael Wills: The Government have consulted on whether voting could be made more convenient by changing the timing of Election Day. On one hand, for those balancing family and child care commitments with working full or part-time, Thursday may not be a convenient day for voting. However, other groups, including religious groups, might have concerns about voting on a Saturday or Sunday.
	This consultation has now closed and the Government are currently working on a detailed analysis of the responses. We will publish this analysis and set out the findings of the consultation in due course.

Electoral Fraud

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Government are taking to reduce levels of electoral fraud.

Michael Wills: The Government have taken significant steps to enhance the security of the electoral process including the measures introduced in the Electoral Administration Act 2006.
	Recent information published by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Electoral Commission on 1 May allows us, for the first time, to examine the extent and nature of allegations of electoral malpractice. It is consistent with earlier findings that the scale and volume of allegations of fraud have been decreasing. Of the 60 voting and registration alleged offences recorded at the 2008 elections, no further action was taken in the significant majority of these cases. This must be seen in the context of the 16 million votes which were cast at the May 2008 elections—but fraud is still unacceptable.
	We cannot be complacent about electoral fraud but these figures demonstrate that the measures which we and others, including the police, the Electoral Commission and electoral administrators, have already taken have been successful.
	We are now legislating for the introduction of individual registration in a way that will help to further curb the risk of fraud, while ensuring that changes also support improvements to the comprehensiveness and accuracy of electoral registers.

Prison Capacity

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure adequate capacity in the prison system.

David Hanson: Prison is the right place for the most dangerous, serious and persistent offenders. We are committed to making sure we have enough prison places to cater for those offenders who need to be imprisoned. Our current prison population projects suggest we should continue to plan for a capacity of 96,000 by 2014, and our capacity programme will therefore increase overall prison capacity to 96,000 places by 2014.
	We have increased prison capacity by nearly 25,000 places (not all new build) since 1997. We have delivered, to date, over 4,600 places as part of the ongoing capacity programme and will deliver a further 1,600 additional places in 2009.

HM Prison Ashwell

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received on the recent disturbances at HM Prison Ashwell.

David Hanson: We have received representations from the Prison Officers' Association and from the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan). Police and prison investigations are under way. The incident resulted in significant damage to the establishment. As I made clear in my written ministerial statement of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 2WS, and the Justice Secretary in his oral statement on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 569, we pay tribute to the staff of the Prison Service and other emergency services for bringing the incident to a conclusion.

Prisoners: Learning Difficulties

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to identify prisoners with learning difficulties.

David Hanson: The Learning and Skills Council has commissioned Dyslexia Action to develop a questionnaire for use with offenders which highlights features of a broad range of "hidden" disabilities, including dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit disorder. Education providers will shortly be trained in its use and be expected to assess all learners who are referred to them from August 2009.

Departmental Expenditure

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which of his Department's programmes will be subject to reductions in their planned budgets between 2009 and 2011.

Maria Eagle: Allocations to business groups are currently being finalised for 2010-11, to reflect the additional £70 million efficiency savings announced in the Budget, but 2009-10 allocations are set out in the corporate plan.

Civil Service: Reform

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the planned parliamentary timetable is for the passage of a Civil Service Bill.

Michael Wills: The draft Constitutional Renewal Bill contained provisions in respect of the civil service. The Government are finalising the clauses of the Constitutional Renewal Bill in response to consultation and parliamentary scrutiny, and intend to introduce the Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many house sales have been recorded by the Land Registry in each region in each month since January 1990;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2009,  Official Report, column 969W, on housing: sales, how many sales there were in each local authority area in each month since January 1990.

Michael Wills: A breakdown of the figures requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Land Registry's Residential Price Report and House Price Index provide further information from 1995. These are available on Land Registry's website
	www.landregistry.gov.uk

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2009,  Official Report, column 969W, on housing: sales, what the earliest  (a) monthly and  (b) annual data on numbers of sales are that the Land Registry has on record; and if he will place in the Library a copy of those data.

Michael Wills: Land Registry's earliest recorded data for residential sales in England and Wales dates from  (a) January 1995 and  (b) 1995. These figures are 50,675 and 800,494 respectively. Land Registry's Residential Property Price Reports and House Price Index provide these data from 1995. The information is available on the Land Registry website at;
	http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/property_info/
	http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/

Offences against Children: Greater London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions for offences relating to child abuse there were in each London borough between 1998 and 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: There is no specific offence of 'child abuse'. Furthermore, the term 'child abuse' describes harm caused to a child arising from emotional, physical and sexual abuse or neglect caused by a parent or carer.
	The statistics provided in the following table are for those offences currently identified as such, including causing or allowing the death of a child, sexual assaults against under 16s, and cruelty or neglect of a child. Not included are other forms of abuse for which there is no separate legal category, offences where the victim cannot be identified as a child from the type of offence, and cases of abuse which cannot be identified because they were proceeded against under more general offences such as physical assault.
	It is not possible to further break down information held to individual London boroughs, thus data for both Metropolitan and City of London police force areas have been provided in lieu.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for offences relating to child abuse in Metropolitan and the City of London police force area, 1998 to 2007( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			Proceeded against 
			  Statute  Offence description  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 S.5 Causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person — — — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Children and Young Persons Art 1933 Sec 1. Cruelty or neglect of children 84 95 91 81 120 140 106 106 85 68 
			 Offences against the Person Act 1861 Sec 27. Abandoning children under two years. — 1 — 2 — — 1 1 — — 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Rape of a female aged under 16. 67 74 103 130 204 254 170 148 123 97 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 Rape of a male aged under 16. 1 3 4 7 10 8 5 8 8 4 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 Rape of a female child under 13 by a male — — — — — — 11 29 28 32 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 Rape of a male child under 13 by a male — — — — — — 3 4 14 10 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.7 Sexual assault of a female child under 13 — — — — — — 8 58 51 70 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.8(1)(2)(1)(3), S.10(1a,b,ci)(3), S.9(1a,b,cii)(2), S.9(1a,b,cii)(3), S 10(1,a,b,c(ii))(2), S 10(1,a,b,c(ii))(3), Sexual activity involving a child — — — — — — 10 24 31 32 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S16(1ei,2-5), S16(1eii,2-5), S17(1ei,2-S), S18(1fi,2-5), S19(1ei,2-5), S17(1eii,2-5) Abuse of a position of trust: Sexual activity with children — — — — — — 2 1 2 3 
			 Total  152 173 198 220 334 402 316 380 342 317 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 S.5 came into force on 21 March 2005. (4) The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. Source: OCJR—E and A: Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit Our ref: PQ 271043 (Table)

Prisoners

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will commission the Social Exclusion Unit to review its work on the prison population and the cost of reoffending.

Jack Straw: Since the publication of the Social Exclusion Unit's report "Reducing re-offending by ex-prisoners" in 2002 we have had significant success in reducing the reoffending by offenders released from custody. Between 2000 and 2006 there was a 22.9 per cent. fall in the frequency rate from 189.4 to 146.1 offences per 100 offenders. Additionally the rate of serious re-offending decreased by 11.1 per cent. over the same period.
	The Government's social exclusion agenda is now led by the Social Exclusion Task Force (SETF), which has a strategic role in delivering better working across Departments on social exclusion issues. This includes the Socially Excluded Adults Public Service Agreement (PSA), which aims to increase the proportion of socially excluded adults in employment and accommodation. The Ministry of Justice is working closely with the SETF and other delivery departments to take forward this PSA and to tackle other factors linked to reducing reoffending. With this aim in mind a Reducing Reoffending Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) chaired by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Justice (Mr. Hanson) and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Mr. Simon), and including Ministers from 13 Government Departments, is responsible for ensuring the alignment of departmental targets and PSAs to support crime reduction and the reduction of reoffending, and ensure delivery of agreed cross government plans.
	Work is also in hand to collect data associated with the costs of reoffending. The Ministry of Justice is currently developing a segmentation approach better to understand different offender groups, including their behaviour and criminal careers. This will include an assessment of which offenders are likely to cost society the most through their reoffending, and therefore where there are likely to be higher benefits to the public through reducing further reoffending. Additionally, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is undertaking a Specification, Benchmarking and Costing Programme, which aims to create a robust framework of costed service specifications thereby exposing choices for the business about what services should be delivered, to which offenders, at what level of quality. Both of these work-streams will help us to understand how to best target resources and intervene more effectively in the future to minimise the cost of reoffending.

Prisoners Release: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the effectiveness of electronic tagging of  (a) young offenders aged between (i) 10 and 15 and (ii) 12 and 16 years old,  (b) prisoners released on end of custody licence and (c) those on bail resident in (A) Essex and (B) Castle Point.

David Hanson: No research on the effectiveness of tagging in Essex, or Castle Point in particular, has been carried out or is planned. The current research programme within the Ministry of Justice includes further research on the effectiveness of a wide range of interventions aimed at reducing re-offending including a feasibility study into reoffending by prisoners released on home detention curfew but not on electronic monitoring in general.
	Current evidence suggests that electronic monitoring has a neutral effect on re-offending. However, international research does suggest that it can be effective in helping to ensure compliance with other, more rehabilitative, community penalties.
	Electronic monitoring provides the courts with a credible alternative to custody. Curfews introduce regularity into what are often chaotic lifestyles, and enhance supervision and can disrupt the pattern of offending behaviour. A Joint Criminal Justice Inspectorates Report on the effectiveness of electronically monitored curfews was published in October 2008, and its recommendations are being considered by the Ministry of Justice.
	Prisoners released on an end of custody licence are not subject to a curfew condition.

Prisons: Basford

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what size of prison was considered for the Basford East and West site;
	(2)  what categories of prison have been considered for the Basford East and West site;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the local community in Basford East and West as a result of building a prison in that area;
	(4)  whether his Department has decided against Basford East and West as a potential site for a prison building;
	(5)  what parties local to Basford East and West he has consulted on prison building;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of Basford  (a) East and  (b) West as a potential site for a prison building;
	(7)  what estimate he has made of the cost of building a prison on the Basford  (a) East and  (b) West site was.

Jack Straw: As I announced on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 569-80, we will not be proceeding with the 2,500 place "Titan" prisons, but we will be building 1,500 place prisons instead.
	The site at Basford East and, West was one of a number of sites brought to the attention of the National Offender Management Service as part of the site search exercise for "Titan" prisons to hold 2,500 prisoners. It was assessed, but not considered suitable for development as a Titan and no estimates of costs were made. There are no current plans for prisons on any of the sites listed other than those named by me in Parliament on 27 April.

Prisons: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions have taken place on  (a) extending existing prison capacity and  (b) providing new prison facilities in Essex; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: As I announced on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 569-80, we will not be proceeding with the 2,500 place "Titan" prisons, but we will be building 1,500 place prisons instead.
	I explained then that we were working to secure sites for the first two of these prisons, including one at Runwell in Wickford, Essex. We commenced negotiations with the owners of the site, the Homes and Communities Agency following my announcement and wrote to Chelmsford borough council on 27 April 2009 to inform them that we intend to start negotiations to buy this site.
	The other site is Beam Park West in Dagenham in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham and is on land that was formerly part of the Ford motor car company. There are no plans for extending existing prison sites in Essex.

Prisons: Mobile Phones

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mobile telephones were seized in each prison in England and Wales in the last five years for which figures are available.

David Hanson: Prisons are asked to send mobile phones and SIM cards they find to a central unit for analysis. The numbers analysed are set out in the following table for each of the last three years. There are no figures available for the years prior to 2006, because this information was not collated centrally.
	The figures include items discovered within the prison perimeter and on entry to establishments. However, we believe that these figures may understate the actual number of finds, because they do not include items retained by the police for evidential purposes, and because in some instances prisons have not sent items for analysis. NOMS is putting in place new procedures to ensure that we have a more comprehensive picture in future. While the numbers of phones found indicates the scale of the challenge in tackling illicit mobile phones, it is also a reflection of prisons' increasing success in finding them and better reporting.
	NOMS is implementing a strategy to minimise the number of phones entering prisons, and to find or disrupt those that do enter. As part of the strategy, prisons are being provided with technologies to strengthen local security and searching strategies, in line with the recommendations in the Blakey report, Disrupting the Supply of Illicit Drugs into Prisons, published in July 2008. This includes the roll out of "BOSS" chairs to all prisons, and the deployment of other detection and disruption technologies, including mobile phone signal blockers.
	We have also strengthened the law, through the Offender Management Act 2007 (implemented in April 2008), which makes it a criminal offence with a punishment of up to two years' imprisonment to bring an unauthorised mobile phone or component part into a prison.
	
		
			Mobile phones/SIM cards 
			  Establishment   2006  2007  2008 
			 Acklington C 0 0 18 
			 Albany B 0 0 2 
			 Altcourse Local 0 0 190 
			 Ashfield Juvenile/YOI/Remand 0 0 0 
			 Ashwell C 9 3 48 
			 Askham Grange Female open 0 0 0 
			 Aylesbury YOI 17 22 146 
			 Bedford Local 31 23 8 
			 Belmarsh A/Local 94 65 75 
			 Birmingham Local 26 17 307 
			 Blakenhurst (became part of Hewell in 2008) Local 27 100 — 
			 Blantyre House C 1 2 4 
			 Blundeston C 52 47 71 
			 Brinsford Juvenile/YOI/Remand 11 32 90 
			 Bristol Local 28 46 35 
			 Brixton B/Local 0 83 425 
			 Brockhill (became part of Hewell in 2008) C 2 7 — 
			 Bronzefield Female 0 0 12 
			 Buckley Hall C 9 41 61 
			 Bullingdon Local/Remand 27 25 54 
			 Bullwood Hall C 3 0 9 
			 Camp Hill C 0 10 27 
			 Canterbury C 20 10 19 
			 Cardiff Local 14 29 42 
			 Castington Juvenile/YOI/Remand 0 1 3 
			 Channings Wood C 2 58 121 
			 Chelmsford B 20 5 37 
			 Coldingley C 9 17 22 
			 Cookham Wood Juvenile (re-roled from female prison during 2907-08) 0 12 0 
			 Dartmoor B 19 40 81 
			 Deerbolt YOI 0 6 24 
			 Doncaster Local 15 93 10 
			 Dorchester Local 30 9 14 
			 Dovegate B 49 33 35 
			 Downview Female 2 9 11 
			 Drake Hall Female 3 0 6 
			 Durham Local 7 22 18 
			 East Sutton Park Female open 0 9 11 
			 Eastwood Park Female 3 7 10 
			 Edmunds Hill C 2 60 41 
			 Elmley Local 23 33 103 
			 Erlestoke C 37 74 47 
			 Everthorpe C 11 1 127 
			 Exeter Local 10 16 79 
			 Featherstone C 14 14 40 
			 Feltham YOI/Remand 0 0 95 
			 Ford D 26 25 22 
			 Forest Bank Local 57 65 5 
			 Foston Hall Female 0 0 0 
			 Frankland A 8 29 41 
			 Full Sutton A 33 22 42 
			 Garth B 54 24 87 
			 Gartree Lifer 10 25 32 
			 Glen Parva YOI/Remand 4 28 56 
			 Gloucester Local 5 33 26 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill B/D 70 42 56 
			 Guys Marsh C (also held young offenders until 2008) 56 15 9 
			 Haverigg C 26 26 18 
			 Hewell Local/C/D — — 387 
			 Hewell Grange (became part of Hewell in 2008) D 5 56  
			 High Down Local/ Remand 14 9 177 
			 Highpoint C 81 231 339 
			 Hindley YOI/Juvenile/Remand 1 34 163 
			 Hollesley Bay D/YOI 4 79 116 
			 Holloway Female 0 0 16 
			 Holme House Local 3 22 53 
			 Hull Local 19 66 22 
			 Huntercombe Juvenile/YOI 0 1 16 
			 Kennet C (opened from mid-2007) 0 6 43 
			 Kingston/Portsmouth Lifer 12 9 9 
			 Kirkham D 12 122 12 
			 Kirklevington C 6 24 78 
			 Lancaster Castle C 16 5 0 
			 Lancaster Farms YOI/Remand 0 18 20 
			 Latchmere House C 0 0 30 
			 Leeds Local 52 48 84 
			 Leicester Local 12 38 65 
			 Lewes Local 45 40 2 
			 Leyhill D 12 43 30 
			 Lincoln Local 30 29 56 
			 Lindholme C 7 12 17 
			 Littlehey C 4 11 17 
			 Liverpool Local 56 59 118 
			 Long Lartin A 71 96 66 
			 Lowdham Grange B 1 2 32 
			 Low Newton Female 1 4 3 
			 Maidstone C 32 25 72 
			 Manchester A/Local 62 75 112 
			 Moorland Closed C 17 19 86 
			 Moorland Open C/D/YOI 0 28 9 
			 Morton Hall Female 14 1 11 
			 The Mount C 87 47 23 
			 New Hall Female 4 1 1 
			 Northallerton YOI 1 13 6 
			 North Sea Camp D 48 58 96 
			 Norwich Local/YOI/D 11 35 70 
			 Nottingham Local 21 48 40 
			 Onley C/YOI 6 23 24 
			 Pare Local/YOI 6 19 66 
			 Parkhurst B 38 24 21 
			 Pentonville Local 0 195 80 
			 Peterborough Local/Female 41 124 133 
			 Portland YOI 0 0 0 
			 Preston Local 0 32 181 
			 Ranby C 21 4 127 
			 Reading YOI/Remand 0 41 16 
			 Risley C 14 45 70 
			 Rochester YOI 2 6 13 
			 Rye Hill B 0 4 56 
			 Send Female 0 4 7 
			 Shepton Mallet Lifer 0 2 10 
			 Shrewsbury Local 7 0 10 
			 Stafford C 16 21 55 
			 Standford Hill D 15 28 9 
			 Stocken C 22 7 30 
			 Stoke Heath YOI/Remand 10 3 86 
			 Styal Female 8 6 13 
			 Sudbury D 11 1 38 
			 Swaleside B 32 123 145 
			 Swansea Local 4 3 43 
			 Swinfen Hall C/YOI 30 31 39 
			 Thorn Cross YOI 20 2 9 
			 Usk/Prescoed C/D 0 2 22 
			 The Verne C 3 9 87 
			 Wakefield A 2 2 4 
			 Wandsworth Local 0 31 398 
			 Warren Hill D/YOI/Juvenile 0 0 0 
			 Wayland C 23 51 27

Young Offenders: Education

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Advisory Steering Group for the proposed young offenders academy;
	(2)  whether he plans to undertake public consultation on the proposal for a young offenders academy before the pilot project is given approval to begin procurement; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the compatibility of proposals for a young offenders academy with the Government's policy to make custody for children a last resort.

David Hanson: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, met with representatives of East Potential, the organisation proposing the academy, on 11 November 2008. Officials of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) have also met several times with East Potential representatives to consider the proposal.
	The proposal is still at the development stage: it is too early to discuss the Government's possible response to a more fully developed plan or how such a proposal would be considered.
	Any proposals regarding the use of custody for young people who offend would be considered in the light of the Government's overall approach to youth justice, including our clear statement that custody for young people under 18 should only be used as a last resort.

Youth Justice

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what factors he took into account in the decision to reduce the number of places contracted for custodial places in local authority secure children's homes; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	The secure children's homes contract decisions followed a joint tendering exercise by the Youth Justice Board and the Department for Children Schools and Families. New contracts were offered to nine homes following a detailed evaluation, consisting of an assessment of the quality of the bids received and a financial assessment, based on the submitted prices. The required number of beds in each region, value for money, and overall affordability were factors in the decision-making process.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

10 Downing Street

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether people attending confidential meetings at 10 Downing street are required to enter through an entrance other than the main door.

Kevin Brennan: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on security matters.

10 Downing Street: Internet

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  with reference to the Answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1229W, on departmental email, for how long the contact email form on the Downing Street website has been unavailable for public communication; and what effect this unavailability will have on his Department's progress towards its strategic objective 4 in respect of avoidable contact;
	(2)  on what date the Downing Street website stopped offering a contact form for members of the public to email the Prime Minister;
	(3)  how many emails from members of the public 10 Downing Street has received in the last three months.

Tom Watson: Enhancements have been made to the No. 10 e-mail facility and an updated version is now available. This is in addition to the other ways in which members of the public can interact with the Prime Minister, including: ePetitions; Ask the PM on the Downing Street YouTube site; Twitter; and, written correspondence.

10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1350W, on 10 Downing Street: repairs and maintenance, which contractors were employed to undertake the works carried out in August and September 2008.

Kevin Brennan: The procurement of facilities services across the Cabinet Office estate is provided by the total facilities management provider for the Cabinet Office.

Charities

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Charity Commission's monitoring of links between charities and extremism; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Charity Commission takes a zero tolerance approach to links between charities and terrorism, and last year published a revised counter-terrorism strategy. I have asked the Charity Commission to write to set out its approach to this issue.
	 Letter from Andrew Hind:
	As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to write in connection with your written Parliamentary Question on what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Charity Commission's monitoring of links between charities and extremism. I thought it would be useful to set out our approach to this issue.
	The Charity Commission has a specific monitoring unit to identify and monitor suspected and apparent abuse in charities, including fraud and financial abuse, risks to vulnerable beneficiaries and the risk of terrorist abuse. The Commission published its Counter-Terrorism Strategy in July 2008 which sets out the Commission's strategic approach to dealing with the vulnerability of the charity sector to terrorism, including criminal extremism. This document is publicly available on our website, www.charitycommission.gov.uk, and I will arrange for a copy of this to be placed in the Library of the House.
	Our Compliance Monitoring Unit liaises closely with a variety of agencies. Matters of criminality are for the police to lead on. The Unit is also responsible for conducting compliance visits to charities to carry out on-site inspections and proactively look into matters of concern. As of 31 March 2009 it had 236 proactive monitoring cases open and since the beginning of 2008 it had conducted 15 visits covering the full range of issues and concerns, some of which related to matters of possible criminality and extremism.
	I hope this is helpful.

Charities: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to his Department's press release of 8 April 2009, on campaigning charities, what restrictions will govern the use of the available funds for  (a) political campaigning and  (b) the promotion of political campaigns by charities.

Kevin Brennan: The Government want to promote the development of strong active and empowered communities. Organisations that represent the voices of their community and campaign for change are central to this. This role is particularly important in respect of groups that currently feel disadvantaged in decision-making processes.
	All third sector organisations that participate in the innovative campaigning programme must adhere to the Charity Commission guidance on campaigning which can be found at
	http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/publications/cc9.asp.
	This guidance makes it clear that charities can engage in political campaigning in furtherance of their charitable objectives, but can not engage in party political campaigning.

Childbirth

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many babies  (a) had a low birth weight and  (b) were stillborn in each (i) ward and (ii) low layer super output area in England in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many babies (a) had a low birthweight and (b) were stillborn in each (i) ward and (ii) low layer super output area in England in the most recent year for which figures are available. (271807)
	Information on low birthweight babies and stillbirths is not routinely published for wards and lower layer super output areas, in order to protect the privacy of individual mothers and babies.

Death Certificates

Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many death certificates mentioning 
	(1)  thrombosis have been issued in each of the last five years;
	(2)  arteriosclerosis have been issued in each of the last five years;
	(3)  gout have been issued in each of the last five years;
	(4)  prostate cancer have been issued in each of the last five years;
	(5)  osteoarthritis have been issued in each of the last five years;
	(6)  sleep apnoea have been issued in each of the last five years;
	(7)   (a) type 1 diabetes and  (b) type 2 diabetes have been issued in each of the last five years;
	(8)  high blood pressure have been issued in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking:
	(1) How many death certificates mentioning thrombosis have been issued in each of the last five years. (271404)
	(2) How many death certificates mentioning arteriosclerosis have been issued in each of the last five years. (271405)
	(3) How many death certificates mentioning gout have been issued in each of the last five years. (271406)
	(4) How many death certificates mentioning prostate cancer have been issued in each of the last five years. (271407)
	(5) How many death certificates mentioning osteoarthritis have been issued in each of the last five years. (271408)
	(6) How many death certificates mentioning sleep apnoea have been issued in each of the last five years. (271409)
	(7) How many death certificates mentioning (a) Type 1 diabetes and (b) Type 2 diabetes have been issued in each of the last five years. (271410)
	(8) How many death certificates mentioning high blood pressure have been issued in each of the last five years. (271411)
	Internationally accepted guidance from the World Health Organisation requires only those conditions that contributed directly to death to be recorded on the death certificate. Medical practitioners and coroners are not supposed to record all of the diseases or conditions present at or before death. Whether a condition contributed is a matter for their clinical judgement.
	The table attached provides the number of deaths where the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes recorded indicate whether any of the following conditions were mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, either as the underlying cause or as a contributory factor, in England and Wales, for 2003 to 2007 (the latest year available).
	(1) Thrombosis
	(a) Myocardial infarction and coronary thrombosis
	(b) Thrombotic Strokes
	(c) Pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis
	(d) Arterial embolism and thrombosis
	(2) Arteriosclerosis
	(a) Strokes specifying embolism, thrombosis or and narrowing or occlusion of arteries
	(b) Other and unspecified strokes
	(c) Ischaemic heart diseases
	(d) Atherosclerosis
	(3) Gout
	(4) Prostate cancer
	(5) Arthrosis (osteoarthritis)
	(6) Sleep apnoea
	(7) Diabetes
	(a) Type I diabetes
	(b) Type II diabetes
	(c) Unspecified diabetes
	8) Hypertensive diseases
	It is not possible from death certificate data to separate thrombotic, embolic and atherosclerotic conditions affecting the arteries to the brain. Atherosclerosis of arteries in the neck and inside the skull can lead to strokes through thrombosis, embolism or sometimes haemorrhage. The table therefore includes a single category of deaths with mention of one or more ICD codes in the range that includes thrombotic, embolic and atherosclerotic cerebrovascular diseases. Pulmonary embolism and venous thrombosis have been combined, because when one is part of the sequence leading to death, the other nearly always is as well, whether it is mentioned on the certificate or not.
	Arteriosclerosis can affect any artery in the body, including those supplying the brain, the heart and all other vital organs. Whether the term used is arteriosclerosis, coronary or ischaemic heart disease, the medical condition is virtually the same - lack of oxygenated blood (ischaemia) to the heart muscle because of atherosclerosis (narrowing and stiffening) of the coronary arteries. This clinical category is represented by the ICD-10 code range 120-125. The whole range has been used to count deaths with any mention of atherosclerotic/ischaemic/coronary heart disease in the attached table.
	Type I and Type II diabetes are distinct clinical entities, which are easily identified and tabulated from death certificates using ICD codes. However, the type of diabetes is not always accurately recorded on the death certificate. Therefore, ICD codes have been used to tabulate death certificate mentions of diabetes specified as Type I or Type II, and also those where the type has not been specified.
	When interpreting the data in these tables, it is important to be aware that many deaths will have more than one of the requested conditions mentioned. Thrombosis of the coronary arteries in the heart is one of the steps in a heart attack; thrombosis of cerebral arteries may cause a stroke. In both these cases, atherosclerotic narrowing of the arteries will usually have led to the thrombosis. Therefore, many deaths will be represented in more than one of the causes listed.
	
		
			  Table 1. Deaths where certain named causes were mentioned on the death certificate( 1) , England and Wales( 2) , 2003 to 2007( 3) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			  Cause of death   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Thrombosis Myocardial infarction and coronary thrombosis 48,569 44,283 41,446 38,159 36,152 
			  Thrombotic strokes 598 505 457 385 301 
			  Pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis 18,496 17,016 16,720 17,188 16,670 
			  Arterial embolism and thrombosis 532 517 518 517 501 
			
			 Arteriosclerosis Strokes specifying embolism, thrombosis or and narrowing or occlusion of arteries 8,182 7,440 7,240 7,002 6,628 
			  Other and unspecified strokes 63,198 58,468 56,530 54,560 53,081 
			  Ischaemic heart diseases 133,350 126,161 122,837 117,475 115,586 
			  Atherosclerosis 7,649 6,944 6,471 6,238 5,874 
			
			 Gout  140 132 153 119 112 
			 Prostate cancer  12,397 12,425 12,296 12,474 12,860 
			 Arthrosis (osteoarthritis)  1,079 996 930 958 1,013 
			 Sleep apnoea  111 116 152 142 167 
			 Diabetes Type I 1,496 1,314 1,193 1,193 1,184 
			  Type II 6,180 6,424 7,090 7,949 9,954 
			  Unspecified 19,466 19,018 19,765 19,730 19,368 
			 Hypertensive diseases  26,098 26,692 28,837 30,796 33,054 
			 (1 )Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). The specific causes of death categorised in Table 1, and their corresponding ICD-10 codes, are shown in the following box. Deaths were included where one of these causes was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate. (2 )Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (3 )Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Box 1, Causes of death codes used—International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) 
			  Cause of death   ICD-10 code(s) 
			 Thrombosis Myocardial infarction and coronary thrombosis 121-124.0 
			  Thrombotic strokes 163.0, 163.3, 163.6, 165-166 
			  Pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis 180.1-180.3, 180.9, 182.9, 126.0, 126.9 
			  Arterial embolism and thrombosis 174 
			
			 Arteriosclerosis Strokes specifying embolism, thrombosis or and narrowing or occlusion of arteries 163, 165-166 
			  Other and unspecified strokes 164, 167-169 
			  Ischaemic heart diseases 120-125 
			  Atherosclerosis 170 
			
			 Gout  M10 
			 Prostate cancer  C61 
			 Arthrosis (osteoarthritis)  M15-M19 
			 Sleep apnoea  G47.3 
			 Diabetes Type I E10 
			  Type II E11 
			  Unspecified E14 
			 Hypertensive diseases  110-115

Death: Malnutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many hospital deaths were caused by malnutrition among those in each age group over 65 years in each region in the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated May 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many hospital deaths were caused by malnutrition among those in each age group over 65 years in each region in the last 10 years. (272547)
	Malnutrition may be recorded as the underlying cause of death, but this is a rare occurrence. The 'effects of hunger', as the effects of malnutrition may be reported on a death certificate, is never recorded as the underlying cause of death, because it is defined by the International Classification of Diseases as a 'secondary cause' only. Consequently, deaths with any mention of either of these causes on the death certificate are reported together.
	The attached tables provide the numbers of deaths in hospital where (a) malnutrition was the underlying cause of death (Table 1), and (b) malnutrition or 'effects of hunger' was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate (Table 2), for persons in each age group over 65 years, resident in each government office region in England, for the years 1998 to 2007 (the latest year available). Table 2 will include deaths where malnutrition was a complication of the underlying cause (for example cancer of the stomach) in addition to deaths where it was reported as the underlying cause.
	The term 'hospital' includes NHS, non-NHS and military hospitals. It is not possible to determine from these figures how or where the malnutrition or 'effects of hunger' occurred.
	
		
			  Table 1. Deaths in hospitals( 1 ) where malnutrition was the underlying cause of death,( 2)  persons in each age group over 65 years resident in government office regions in England,( 3 ) 1998-2007( 4) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			  Government office region  Year  66-70  71-75  76-80  81-85  Over 85 
			 North East 1998 1 0 0 1 0 
			  1999 0 0 1 1 0 
			  2000 0 0 0 0 1 
			  2001 0 0 1 0 2 
			  2002 0 1 0 0 0 
			  2003 0 0 0 0 5 
			  2004 0 0 1 0 0 
			  2005 0 0 1 0 0 
			  2006 0 1 1 1 1 
			  2007 0 0 0 1 1 
			
			 North West 1998 0 0 1 0 3 
			  1999 1 0 2 0 0 
			  2000 0 0 0 0 2 
			  2001 0 0 1 3 3 
			  2002 1 0 3 1 2 
			  2003 1 1 0 0 2 
			  2004 2 0 0 1 3 
			  2005 0 0 1 2 0 
			  2006 0 0 1 1 0 
			  2007 0 0 1 0 2 
			
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 1998 0 0 0 0 0 
			  1999 1 0 0 0 0 
			  2000 0 0 0 2 1 
			  2001 0 1 0 0 0 
			  2002 1 0 0 0 1 
			  2003 0 1 1 1 2 
			  2004 0 0 1 0 2 
			  2005 0 0 0 0 3 
			  2006 1 1 0 0 2 
			  2007 1 1 1 1 0 
			
			 East Midlands 1998 0 0 0 1 0 
			  1999 0 0 0 1 1 
			  2000 0 0 0 1 1 
			  2001 0 1 0 0 2 
			  2002 0 2 0 1 1 
			  2003 0 0 0 0 3 
			  2004 0 0 0 0 0 
			  2005 0 0 1 0 0 
			  2006 0 0 1 1 2 
			  2007 1 1 1 2 0 
			
			 West Midlands 1998 0 2 0 0 1 
			  1999 0 0 0 1 3 
			  2000 1 0 2 1 2 
			  2001 0 0 1 0 2 
			  2002 0 2 1 3 1 
			  2003 0 0 0 3 2 
			  2004 0 1 1 0 0 
			  2005 1 0 0 2 0 
			  2006 0 2 1 1 2 
			  2007 0 1 0 1 4 
			
			 East of England 1998 0 0 0 0 1 
			  1999 1 1 0 0 3 
			  2000 0 0 0 0 1 
			  2001 0 1 3 1 1 
			  2002 0 0 0 1 0 
			  2003 0 0 0 2 1 
			  2004 0 0 0 0 3 
			  2005 0 1 1 1 6 
			  2006 2 1 0 0 2 
			  2007 0 0 0 0 2 
			
			 London 1998 1 0 0 0 0 
			  1999 0 0 0 1 1 
			  2000 0 0 0 0 1 
			  2001 0 0 1 0 3 
			  2002 0 0 1 2 2 
			  2003 1 0 0 1 2 
			  2004 0 0 1 1 0 
			  2005 0 0 0 0 1 
			  2006 1 0 0 1 2 
			  2007 0 0 0 1 1 
			
			 South East 1998 0 0 0 1 0 
			  1999 1 2 0 0 2 
			  2000 1 0 3 1 2 
			  2001 1 0 2 1 0 
			  2002 0 1 0 2 4 
			  2003 1 0 0 1 2 
			  2004 1 1 0 0 3 
			  2005 1 1 1 3 5 
			  2006 1 0 1 3 2 
			  2007 0 1 1 2 3 
			
			 South West 1998 0 0 4 0 1 
			  1999 2 0 1 0 0 
			  2000 0 0 2 1 1 
			  2001 0 0 0 0 1 
			  2002 0 0 2 1 2 
			  2003 0 0 0 0 0 
			  2004 1 0 0 2 5 
			  2005 0 0 3 0 1 
			  2006 0 1 1 1 2 
			  2007 0 1 2 0 1 
			 (1) 'Hospital' includes NHS and non-NHS hospitals or multifunction sites, and military hospitals. (2) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 260-269 (malnutrition) for the years 1998 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes E40-E46 (malnutrition) for 2001 onwards. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from each cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (3) Based on boundaries as of 2009. (4) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2. Deaths in hospitals( 1 ) where malnutrition or effects of hunger were mentioned on the death certificate,( 2)  persons in each age group over 65 years resident in government office regions in England,( 3)  1998-2007( 4) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			  Government office region  Year  66-70  71-75  76-80  81-85  Over 85 
			 North East 1998 2 1 0 2 4 
			  1999 1 2 2 3 3 
			  2000 2 5 0 5 2 
			  2001 1 2 5 1 7 
			  2002 1 2 5 1 5 
			  2003 1 1 1 4 5 
			  2004 2 0 2 2 1 
			  2005 1 1 2 1 1 
			  2006 1 4 2 6 6 
			  2007 2 0 3 3 2 
			
			 North West 1998 4 1 2 6 9 
			  1999 6 5 3 4 3 
			  2000 2 4 2 1 4 
			  2001 1 0 5 6 5 
			  2002 2 3 3 6 5 
			  2003 3 5 3 2 5 
			  2004 3 3 9 6 5 
			  2005 0 7 4 6 0 
			  2006 2 0 3 4 5 
			  2007 2 1 9 4 7 
			
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 1998 1 1 3 4 3 
			  1999 3 2 1 5 2 
			  2000 0 2 2 2 6 
			  2001 1 3 2 3 3 
			  2002 2 4 2 0 4 
			  2003 1 2 4 6 7 
			  2004 3 1 4 0 4 
			  2005 1 2 1 2 4 
			  2006 2 2 1 2 4 
			  2007 2 1 5 3 2 
			
			 East Midlands 1998 1 1 5 5 2 
			  1999 2 1 1 3 2 
			  2000 2 1 3 3 4 
			  2001 1 4 1 2 3 
			  2002 1 2 2 5 1 
			  2003 1 1 3 0 6 
			  2004 3 1 1 3 3 
			  2005 2 3 3 4 4 
			  2006 1 1 5 4 5 
			  2007 5 2 1 3 5 
			
			 West Midlands 1998 3 7 3 3 5 
			  1999 1 4 5 10 12 
			  2000 6 4 11 3 8 
			  2001 1 2 3 2 4 
			  2002 3 4 4 10 10 
			  2003 2 4 2 7 6 
			  2004 1 5 11 6 8 
			  2005 3 2 1 6 3 
			  2006 1 9 5 4 4 
			  2007 2 3 7 6 6 
			
			 East of England 1998 3 2 2 3 3 
			  1999 3 5 1 5 7 
			  2000 2 1 0 3 8 
			  2001 1 3 9 4 4 
			  2002 1 4 3 8 5 
			  2003 0 2 1 5 2 
			  2004 3 1 2 2 4 
			  2005 0 3 3 7 14 
			  2006 4 5 2 0 6 
			  2007 1 0 2 3 3 
			
			 London 1998 1 6 6 4 2 
			  1999 3 1 4 5 6 
			  2000 2 1 4 3 7 
			  2001 0 0 8 1 4 
			  2002 2 0 7 4 4 
			  2003 3 1 1 2 4 
			  2004 2 2 1 2 1 
			  2005 1 2 1 1 3 
			  2006 5 1 1 2 5 
			  2007 1 1 2 2 6 
			
			 South East 1998 2 3 1 5 5 
			  1999 2 9 4 6 10 
			  2000 4 1 8 3 7 
			  2001 1 2 5 4 5 
			  2002 2 3 3 5 11 
			  2003 2 0 5 4 8 
			  2004 3 3 3 5 6 
			  2005 4 3 6 7 7 
			  2006 3 6 9 5 13 
			  2007 2 3 3 8 9 
			
			 South West 1998 2 1 6 2 4 
			  1999 4 2 8 3 1 
			  2000 5 2 4 4 7 
			  2001 1 1 1 3 5 
			  2002 1 3 3 3 5 
			  2003 1 1 2 3 2 
			  2004 3 1 3 5 11 
			  2005 2 3 4 5 5 
			  2006 4 3 5 4 9 
			  2007 1 1 7 4 7 
			 (1) 'Hospital' includes NHS and non-NHS hospitals or multifunction sites, and military hospitals. (2) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 260-269 (malnutrition) and E904.1 (effects of hunger) for the years 1998 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes E40-E46 (malnutrition) and T73.0 (effects of hunger) for 2001 onwards. Deaths were included where one of these causes was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from each cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (3) Based on boundaries as of 2009. (4) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Employment: Defence

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of the population is directly employed in defence and related industries.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 27 April 2009
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated May 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of the population are directly employed in Defence and related industries. (271248)
	Statistics on Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel are published by Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA). These indicate that there were a total of around 274,000 service and civilian personnel as at 1 April 2008 who were UK residents.
	DASA also publishes estimates of UK employment directly dependent on MOD expenditure and defence exports (other than its service and civilian personnel). This includes employment in the manufacture of weapons, shipbuilding etc. It is estimated that 160,000 full-time jobs were supported on this basis, on average, during the 2006- 07 financial year, the latest period for which estimates are available. A headcount equivalent of this figure is not available.
	Taken together, the latest estimates of service and civilian personnel and of jobs dependent on MOD expenditure indicate that, approximately, 1 per cent of the UK resident population aged 16 and over is directly employed in Defence and related industries.

Foreign Workers

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1353W, on employment levels: private sector, what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the number of individuals who were not British citizens who were employed in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 5 May 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1353W, on employment level: private sector, what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the number of individuals who were not British citizens who were employed in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available. (271941)
	The available information for non-UK nationals aged 16 and over is provided in the attached table.
	The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The public sector estimates provided do not correspond to official Public Sector Employment estimates. Those are derived directly from employers and are based on National Accounts definitions, but do not include a nationality breakdown.
	Citizenship is defined as the nationality reported by the respondents at the time of the survey.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. This is assessed in a footnote to the table.
	The figures have been derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. Consequently the 2008 estimate is not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release, which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
	
		
			  Non-UK nationals aged 16 and over employed In the public and private sector three month period ending December, 1997 and 2008—United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousands 
			   Private sector( 1, 3)  Public sector( 1, 2)  Total( 4) 
			 1997 766 235 1,005 
			 2008(5) *1,970 **401 *2,385 
			 (1) It should be noted that public and private sector estimates; - are based on survey respondents' views about the organisation for which they work; - do not correspond to the National Accounts definition used for Public Sector Employment estimates. (2) Includes nationalised Industry or state corporation, central government, civil service, local government or council (incl. police, fire services and local authority controlled schools or colleges), university or other grant funded educational establishment, health authority or NHS trust and armed forces. (3 )Includes self-employed and unpaid family workers. (4) Includes those whose type of employer was not known. (5 )Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220  Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV<5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people In most types of communal establishment {e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.) S ource: Labour Force Survey

Public Bodies

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which existing public bodies the Office for National Statistics has stopped classifying as part of the civil service since 2004.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 5 May 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning which existing public bodies the Office for National Statistics has stopped classifying as part of the Civil Service since 2004. (271969).
	Estimates for the home civil service from Q3 2004 onwards are taken from the Civil Service element of the Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (QPSES). Estimates prior to this date are based on results from the Civil Service Statistics publication (Mandate collection), undertaken by Cabinet Office.
	The Office for National Statistics has stopped classifying the following public bodies as part of the Civil Service since Q3 2004:
	Forensic Science Service—became a Government Owned Company on 5 December 2005 and transferred out of the Home Office.
	Assets Recovery Agency—on 1 April 2008, the Assets Recovery Agency merged with the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Public Bodies

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which bodies were classified by the Office for National Statistics as public corporations  (a) in 1996 and  (b) on the latest date for which information is available.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning which bodies were classified by the Office for National Statistics as public corporations  (a) in 1996 and  (b) on the latest date for which information is available. (271970).
	The requested information is attached at Annex A.
	 Annex A
	 Bodies Classified as Public Corporations in 1996
	Aberdeen Harbour Board
	Audit Commission for Local Authorities and The National Health Service in England and Wales
	Audit Scotland
	AWE Management Ltd
	Birmingham Airport
	Blackburn Borough Transport Ltd
	Blyth Harbour Commission
	Bournemouth International Airport
	Bournemouth Transport Ltd
	Bristol International Airport
	British Nuclear Fuels Plc
	British Railways Board
	British Waterways Board
	Caledonian Macbrayne Ltd
	Cardiff Bay Development Agency
	Cardiff City Transport Services Ltd
	CDC Group Plc (Commonwealth Development Corporation)
	Channel Four Television Corporation Ltd (Including all subsidiaries)
	Chester City Transport Ltd
	Chichester Harbour Conservancy
	Civil Aviation Authority
	Covent Garden Market Authority
	Cumbernauld Development Corporation
	Deva Manufacturing Services Ltd
	Development Board for Rural Wales
	Devon Waste Management Ltd
	Direct Rail Services Ltd
	Dover Harbour Board
	East of Scotland Water Authority
	Eastbourne Buses Ltd
	Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation
	English Partnerships
	Exeter and Devon Airport Ltd
	Fleet Air Arm Museum
	Gloucestershire Airport
	Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
	Halton Borough Transport Ltd
	Harwich Haven Authority
	Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Including Airport Management Services)
	Highlands and Islands Enterprise
	Historic Royal Palaces
	Horserace Totalisator Board
	Ipswich Buses Ltd
	Irvine Development Corporation
	Islwyn Borough Transport Ltd
	Land Authority for Wales
	Leeds Bradford International Airport Ltd
	Livingston Development Corporation
	London Luton International Airport Ltd
	London Underground Ltd
	Magnox Electric Plc
	Manchester Airport Plc
	Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (Including Mersey Ferries Ltd)
	Milford Haven Port Authority (Including all subsidiaries)
	N.A.A.F.I.
	Newcastle International Airport Ltd
	North of Scotland Water Authority
	Northern Lighthouse Board
	Norwich Airport
	Nottingham City Transport Ltd
	Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd
	Poole Harbour Commissioners
	Port of London Authority
	Port of Tyne Authority
	Reading Transport
	Remploy Ltd
	Rossendale Transport Ltd
	Royal Mail Holdings Plc (Excl NDC 2000 Ltd and Romec Ltd)
	Royal Naval Museum Trading Co. Ltd
	South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
	Stationery Office
	Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive
	Tay Roadbridge Joint Board
	Thamesdown Transport Ltd
	The British Council
	The Crown Estate Commissioners
	The Oil and Pipeline Agency
	The Shoreham Port Authority
	Trinity House Lighthouse Service
	Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive
	Urban Development Corporations
	Warrington Borough Transport Ltd
	Welsh Development Agency
	Welsh Fourth Channel Authority
	West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive
	West of Scotland Water
	West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
	WJEC CBAC Ltd
	Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation
	 Bodies Classified as Public Corporations in 2008 (Q4):
	2010 Rotherham Ltd
	Al Housing Bassetlaw Ltd
	Aberdeen Harbour Board
	Aire Valley Homes Leeds Ltd
	Ascham Homes Ltd
	Ashfield Homes Ltd
	Audit Commission for Local Authorities and The National Health Service in England and Wales
	Audit Scotland
	AWE Management Ltd
	Barnet Homes Ltd
	BBC Audiobooks Ltd
	BBC World Ltd
	BBC Worldwide Ltd (Including Broadcasting Data Services Ltd)
	Berneslai Homes Ltd
	BIL Solutions Ltd
	Blackpool Transport Services Ltd
	Blyth Harbour Commission
	Blyth Valley Housing Ltd
	Bolton at Home Ltd
	Bournemouth International Airport Ltd
	Bradford and Bingley
	Brent Housing Partnership Ltd
	British Energy Group Ltd
	British Energy Ltd
	British Nuclear Fuels Plc
	British Waterways Board
	British Waterways Marinas Ltd
	Calmac Ferries Ltd
	Cardiff City Transport Services Ltd
	Carrick Housing Ltd
	CDC Group Plc
	Central Office of Information
	Channel Four Television Corporation Ltd (Including all subsidiaries)
	Channel Tunnel Rail Link Ltd
	Cheltenham Borough Homes
	Chichester Harbour Conservancy
	Citywest Homes Ltd
	Civil Aviation Authority
	CNC Building Control Consultancy
	Colchester Borough Homes Ltd
	Companies House
	Covent Garden Market Authority
	Dale and Valley Homes
	Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
	Defence Support Group
	Derby Homes Ltd
	Deva Manufacturing Services Ltd
	Devon Waste Management Ltd
	Direct Rail Services Ltd
	Dover Harbour Board
	Driving Standards Agency
	Ealing Homes Ltd
	East Durham Homes Ltd
	East Midlands International Airport
	East North East Homes Leeds
	Eastbourne Buses Ltd
	Eastbourne Homes Ltd
	Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation
	Eurostar (UK)Ltd
	Export Credit Guarantee Department
	Financial Ombudsman Services Ltd
	Financial Services Compensation Scheme
	Fire Service College
	First Choice Homes Oldham Ltd
	Fleet Air Arm Museum
	Forensic Science
	General Teaching Council for Wales
	Gloucester City Homes Ltd
	Gloucestershire Airport Ltd
	Golden Gates Housing Ltd
	Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
	Hackney Homes
	Halton Borough Transport Ltd
	Hammersmith and Fulham Housing Management Services Ltd
	Harwich Haven Authority
	High Peak Community Housing Ltd
	Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Including Airport Management Services)
	Hillingdon Homes Ltd
	Historic Royal Palaces
	Homes for Haringey
	Homes for Islington Ltd
	Horserace Totalisator Board
	Hounslow Homes Ltd
	Humberside International Airport Ltd
	Ipswich Buses Ltd
	Islwyn Borough Transport Ltd
	Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing Ltd
	Lambeth Living Ltd
	Land Registry
	Leasehold Advisory Service
	Lewisham Homes
	London and Continental Railways Ltd
	London and Continental Stations and Property Ltd
	London Underground Ltd
	Magnox Electric Plc
	Manchester Airport Group Plc
	Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
	Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (Including Mersey Ferries Ltd)
	Met Office
	Milford Haven Port Authority (Including all subsidiaries)
	Newark and Sherwood Homes Ltd
	Newcastle International Airport Ltd
	Newham Homes Ltd
	Newport Transport Ltd
	Northern Lighthouse Board
	Northern Rock
	Northwards Housing
	Nottingham City Holmes
	Nottingham City Transport Ltd
	Ofcom
	OGC Buying Solutions
	Ordnance Survey
	Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd
	Pension Protection Fund
	People 1st Slough
	Plymouth Citybus Ltd
	Poole Harbour Commissioners
	Poole Housing Partnership Ltd
	Port of London Authority
	Port of Tyne Authority
	Reading Transport Ltd
	Registers of Scotland
	Remploy Ltd
	Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Ltd
	Rossendale Transport Ltd
	Royal Mail Holdings Plc (Excluding NDC 2000 Ltd and Romec Ltd)
	Royal Mint
	Royal Naval Museum Trading Company Ltd
	Rykneld Homes
	Salix Homes
	Sandwell Homes Ltd
	Scottish Water
	Sellafield Ltd
	Sheffield Homes Ltd
	Six Town Housing Ltd
	Solihull Community Housing Ltd
	South Essex Homes Ltd
	South Lakes Housing
	South Tyneside Homes Ltd
	South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
	St Leger Homes of Doncaster Ltd
	Stockport Homes
	Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
	Sutton Housing Partnership
	Tay Roadbridge Joint Board
	Thamesdown Transport Ltd
	The BBC World Service Trust
	The British Council
	The Crown Estate Commissioners
	The Financial Services Authority
	The Gateshead Housing Company Ltd
	The General Teaching Council for England
	The Learning Skill and Improvement
	The Learning Trust
	The Oil and Pipeline Agency
	The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
	The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation Ltd
	The Shoreham Port Authority
	Thurrock Development Corporation
	Tote Bookmakers Ltd
	Tote Credit Ltd
	Tower Hamlets Homes Ltd
	Trinity House Lighthouse Service
	Tristar Homes Ltd
	Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive
	UK Hydrographic Office
	UK Intellectual Property Office
	Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
	Wales Audit Office
	Warrington Borough Transport Ltd
	West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive
	West North West Homes Leeds
	West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
	Wigan and Leigh Housing Company Ltd
	WJEC CBAC Ltd
	Wolverhampton Homes Ltd
	Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation
	Your Homes Newcastle Ltd

Teenage Pregnancy

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2009,  Official Report, column 252WA, on teenage pregnancy, if he will rank the wards in each local authority from highest to lowest in respect of their rates of conceptions to under-18 year olds.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for the wards in each local authority to be ranked from highest to lowest in respect of their rates of conceptions to under 18 year olds. (271491)
	The information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost However, ONS has ranked under 18 conception rates for 2000-02 and 2001-03 for all the wards in England and Wales by quintiles and published these as thematic maps on the Neighbourhood statistics website at:
	http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/

Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of third sector organisations in receipt of public funds.

Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally.
	Data from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations' UK Civil Society Almanac 2009 show that in 2006-07 25 per cent. of general charities—40,000 organisations—received public funding.

Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which third sector organisation received the largest allocation from the public purse in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally.

Voluntary Organisations: Government Assistance

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps have been taken to increase access to Government grants for small, community-led projects.

Kevin Brennan: Government are investing £130 million through the Grassroots Grants programme to deliver small grants funding to charities and social enterprises.
	In West Sussex for example, Government have committed £1,836,363 over three years to provide immediate funding to small, local community groups, and also to match fund local donations, which will support these groups into the future.
	In recognition of the particular challenges facing community level third sector organisations who provide recession focused services, Government have provided a further £15.5 million to support these organisations in the 50 areas of England most at risk of increased deprivation as a result of the recessions.
	More information about the Grassroots Grants and Targeted Support Funds can be found at the Community Development Foundation (CDF) website:
	www.cdf.org.uk

Voluntary Organisations: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to third sector organisations in  (a) Leicester East constituency and  (b) Leicestershire in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally.

Voluntary Organisations: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimate he has made of the number of third sector organisations operating in Leicester East constituency.

Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office does not hold information on the number of third sector organisations operating in each constituency area.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attendances there were at each type 1 accident and emergency department in England in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: A table which shows the number of attendances at major (type 1) accident and emergency departments, in the most recent year for which figures are available (2008) has been placed in the Library. The data requested are also available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/AccidentandEmergency/DH_077485

Cancer: Alcoholic Drinks

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer among  (a) men and  (b) women; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Research has shown that alcohol is a carcinogen and that long-term regular consumption increases the risks of cancers of the mouth, oesophagus (gullet), larynx, liver, and female breast and, to a lesser extent, cancers of the colon, and rectum. While research suggests that there is no low level of long-term, regular consumption of alcohol that can reliably be described as risk-free, any such increased risk of cancer at low levels of consumption is itself reported as low.
	The relative risks of developing mouth, oesophagus (gullet), larynx, colo-rectum, liver and female breast cancer are given in the following table:
	
		
			   Relative risk of developing cancer for men regularly drinking 40 grams (g) (5 units) or more per day and women regularly drinking 20g (2.5 units) or more per day compared to men/women who do not drink( 1)  Relative risk of developing cancer for men regularly drinking 60g (7.5 units) or more per day and women regularly drinking 40g (5 units) or more per day compared to men/women who do not drink( 2) 
			  Alcohol-related cancers  Men  Women  Men  Women 
			 Mouth 2.5 1.7 5.4 5.4 
			 Oesophagus 1.9 1.4 4.4 4.4 
			 Larynx (3)1.8 1.2 4.9 4.9 
			 Colo-rectum (4)1.2 1.1 (4)1.5 1.4 
			 Liver 1.3 1.2 3.6 3.6 
			 Female breast n/a 1.2 n/a 1.6 
			 (1) Unless otherwise stated, relative risks taken from National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia: www.nhmrc.gov.au/consult/_files/draft_australian_alcohol_guidelines.pdf  (2) Unless otherwise stated, relative risks taken from Rehm J., Room R., Monteiro M., Gmel G., Graham K., Rehn T., Sempos C. T., Frick U., Jernigan D. Alcohol. (2004) In: WHO (ed), Comparative quantification of health risks: Global and regional burden of disease due to selected major risk factors. Geneva: WHO.  (3) From Corrao, G., Bagnardi, V., Zambon, A. and La Vecchia C. (2004) A meta-analysis of alcohol consumption and the risk of 15 diseases. Preventive Medicine 38 613-619.  (4) World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. Washington DC: AICR, 2007 
		
	
	The Department is committed to raising public understanding of the risks from excessive alcohol consumption, including those relating to various types of cancer. Raised risks of female breast cancer, in particular, are highlighted in the Department's 'Know Your Limits' campaign, which began in May 2008.

Cancer: Death

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths from cancer there were in each  (a) ward and  (b) lower layer super output area in England in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths from cancer there were in each  (a) ward and  (b) lower layer super output area in England in the most recent year for which figures are available. (271808)
	The tables provide the number of deaths where cancer was the underlying cause of death in each  (a) electoral ward (Table 1) and  (b) lower super output area (Table 2), in England, for 2007 (the latest year available). A copy of the tables has been placed in the House of Commons Library

Departmental Visits Abroad

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on  (a) overseas and  (b) domestic (i) travel and (ii) subsistence in respect of its (A) officials and (B) contractors in each year since 1997

Ben Bradshaw: There is no statutory requirement to report overseas and domestic travel or subsistence as separate items in the departmental annual accounts. Therefore, it is only possible to provide the total value of travel and subsistence paid (which includes overnight accommodation). Similarly, it is not possible to separately identify officials and contractors.
	In July 2008, the Department introduced a new finance system, which does allow for the separate identification of domestic and overseas travel. Separate figures for overseas and domestic travel will therefore be available from the 2009-10 financial year. However, these expenses will not be identifiable as for departmental staff or contractors.
	
		
			   £ 
			 1997-98 7,945,553.00 
			 1998-99 7,206,737.00 
			 1999-2000 8,815,086.00 
			 2000-01 9,516,488.00 
			 2001-02 10,394,783.00 
			 2002-03 9,656,964.00 
			 2003-04 11,241,230.00 
			 2004-05 11,260,503.00 
			 2005-06 9,095,161.00 
			 2006-07 8,245,829.00 
			 2007-08 7,245,554.00 
			 2008-09 9,549,641.00

Drinking Water

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) undertaken and  (b) evaluated on the comparative effects on health of bottled water and tap water.

Dawn Primarolo: No research has been undertaken or evaluated by my Department on this matter.
	Both bottled water and tap water must comply with legislation that establishes safety limits for chemicals and microbes in the water. These requirements are similar for both tap water and bottled water.
	The safety and quality of the public water supply is regulated in England by the Drinking Water Inspectorate and that of private water supplies and bottled water by local authorities.

Eczema: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with eczema in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The information on the number of people diagnosed with eczema in Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years is not held centrally.

Epilepsy: Waiting Lists

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2009,  Official Report, column 933W, on epilepsy: waiting lists, for what  (a) clinical and  (b) other reasons no specific waiting time targets have been set for referrals of patients with suspected epilepsy.

Ann Keen: The Department does not set targets, or collect data, on waiting times for most specific medical conditions. However, guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in their report, The diagnosis and management of the epilepsies in adults and children in primary and secondary care, published October 2004 recommends that all people having a first seizure should be seen as soon as possible by a specialist in the management of the epilepsies to ensure precise and early diagnosis and initiation of therapy as appropriate to their needs.

Eyesight: Testing

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pensioners resident in Hendon had free eye tests in 2008-09.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority but is not available by parliamentary constituency. In 2007-08, 30,738 persons over 60 received a free national health service sight test in the Barnet PCT area. Barnet PCT comprises the Hendon, Chipping Barnet, and Finchley and Golders Green constituencies.

First Aid: Parents

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an estimate of the proportion of new parents who undertook training in first aid prior to the birth of their children in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of parents who have undertaken first aid training is not available.
	Our publication "Birth to Five" gives advice to new mothers on a full range of child health, development and parenting issues, including how to cope with illness, injuries and step-by-step emergency first aid. "Birth to Five" encourages parents to take a first aid course and gives information on courses run by the St. John's Ambulance and local NHS ambulance services. A copy of the publication has already been placed in the Library.

Food: Hygiene

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many businesses selling food have been closed consequent upon visits from environmental health inspectors in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: Local authority environmental health officers have powers under food safety regulations to close food establishments, through either an emergency prohibition notice/order or a voluntary closure, because of their imminent risk to food safety. Establishments may subsequently re-open if brought back to compliance with food safety regulations. In a small number of cases, an emergency notice may be served prohibiting the use of a specified piece of equipment; however, the food business may continue to operate.
	The figures in the following table show the number of food establishments subject to an emergency prohibition notice/order, or a voluntary closure:
	
		
			   Hertfordshire( 1)  Hemel Hempstead( 2) 
			 2006-07 10 0 
			 2005-06 3 1 
			 2004-05 3 0 
			 2003 6 1 
			 2002 3 0 
			 2001 6 0 
			 2000 n/a n/a 
			 1999 n/a n/a 
			 1998 n/a n/a 
			 1997 n/a n/a 
			 (1) The local authorities comprising the Hertfordshire region are shown at: www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/DG_4003594 (2) Data for Dacorum district council.  Notes: 1. Data were collected on a financial year basis from 2004-05 but on a calendar year basis prior to this. 2. The last year for which full year data are available is 2006-07. 3. No breakdown of data below the total for England is available for years prior to 2001.

Food: Hygiene

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many businesses selling food have been closed after visits from environmental health inspectors in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: Local authority environmental health officers have powers under food safety regulations to close food establishments, through either an emergency prohibition notice/order or a voluntary closure, because of their imminent risk to food safety. Establishments may subsequently re-open if brought back to compliance with food safety regulations. In a small number of cases, an emergency notice may be served prohibiting the use of a specified piece of equipment; however, the food business may continue to operate.
	The figures in the following table show the number of food establishments subject to an emergency prohibition notice/order, or a voluntary closure:
	
		
			   England  North East England( 1)  Tees Valley( 1)  Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland( 2) 
			 2006-07 739 30 12 12 
			 2005-06 609 14 2 0 
			 2004-05 629 22 2 2 
			 2003 518 16 2 2 
			 2002 413 7 3 2 
			 2001 350 6 4 3 
			 2000 313 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1999 386 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1998 410 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1997 393 n/a n/a n/a 
			 (1). The local authorities comprising these regions are shown at: www.direct.gov.uk/en/DIl/Directories/Localcouncils/DG_4003598 (2). Combined data for  (a) Middlesbrough council and  (b) Redcar and Cleveland borough council  Notes: 1. Data were collected on a financial year basis from 2004-05 but on a calendar year basis prior to this. 2. The last year for which full year data are available is 2006-07 3. A regional breakdown of data is not available prior to 2001

Health Visitors: Children

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts in England provide for health visitors to carry out routine development checks upon children at  (a) eight months and  (b) two years old.

Ann Keen: The Healthy Child programme (formerly the Child Health Promotion programme) is the early intervention and prevention public health programme beginning in pregnancy through to the first five years of life. It sets out a schedule of the core universal services, providing families with a programme of screening, immunisation, health and development reviews, health promotion and parenting guidance, at various stages, including at six months to a year and between one to three years. The Healthy Child programme sets out the core universal programme to be commissioned by local primary care trusts and provided for all families as well as identifying additional preventive elements that may improve the outcomes for children with medium and high risk factors.

Hospital Wards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 510-11W, on hospital wards, how many staff at each grade are working in the operations team; and what programme governance infrastructure has been established;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 510-11W, on hospital wards, which NHS trusts were identified in March 2009 as requiring support from the improvement team;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2009,  Official Report, column 874W, on hospital wards: gender, how many improvement teams there will be; what the size of each team will be; how much funding will be allocated to each team; and what qualifications members of teams will be required to have.

Ann Keen: There are currently three permanent civil servants working within the core eliminating mixed sex accommodation programme team. These are graded; one grade 6, one senior executive officer and one higher executive officer. Additionally, the programme lead is a hosted NHS(1) member of staff working at the equivalent of a senior civil servant grade 1. Each of these members of staff also participate in other areas of departmental work.
	Working alongside the core team is a group of six hosted national health service staff, two secondees and six contractors. As the programme progresses, it will continue to draw on input from a range of expertise sourced from both the Department and from external organisations, (including the NHS), as determined by the emerging requirements.
	An internal assurance governance group is in place which includes the programme's Director and policy lead who report directly to the Department's two lead Director Generals; i.e. the Chief Nursing Officer and the Director General, NHS Finance, Performance and Operation.
	An improvement programme has been developed through a series of initial fact-finding visits to trusts. The sites selected are experiencing a range of problems and volunteered for the visits.
	Full improvement team support will commence in May this year, beginning with those trusts perceived by the public as having shared accommodation and wash facilities and those who have reported having problems.
	The total number of trusts with which improvement teams will engage has not been decided, as such the number of teams cannot yet be specified. The size of any one improvement team will vary, as it will be determined by the nature and complexities of an individual trust's requirements. Likewise, the resources allocated to each team will vary in accordance with the objectives of each improvement visit.
	There are no pre-determined qualification requirements for improvement team members. It is envisaged that teams comprise expertise relating to; nursing, admissions and bed management, estates/hospital design and communications. The main criteria is that members' expertise contributes to delivering the improvement objectives of a particular visit.
	(1) Via the NHS Business Services Authority

Hospital Wards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 510-11W, on hospital wards, 
	(1)  what funding was released to each strategic health authority on 1 April 2009; and how much has been allocated to each project;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library copies of each of the two-weekly update reports which have been received from strategic health authorities;
	(3)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each strategic health authority plan which were to be submitted to his Department by 9 March 2009.

Ann Keen: Funding has been confirmed with each strategic health authority (SHA) as follows:
	
		
			  SHA  Allocation (£ million) 
			 North West 14.8 
			 North East 5.7 
			 East of England 10.3 
			 East Midlands 8.4 
			 West Midlands 10.8 
			 South West 9.6 
			 South Central 6.8 
			 South East Coast 7.8 
			 London 15.3 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 10.5 
			 Total 100 
		
	
	Information is not available to confirm the funding for each individual project. Copies of the SHA plans will be placed in the Library. The two-weekly monitoring reports are subject to revision and may provide an incomplete or misleading assessment of progress against the SHA plans. Each SHA will be required to submit a report in early July confirming delivery of their plans. These will be made available in the Library.

Hyperactivity

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged  (a) under 10 years and  (b) under 16 years were diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (i) in each year since 1997 and (ii) in each primary care trust area in the last year for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: Information is not collected on the number of people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
	In 2006, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidance on the use of drugs to treat ADHD. NICE has estimated that around 5 per cent. of school-aged children meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, equivalent to 366,000 children and adolescents in England and Wales, but not all these children will require medication.

Influenza

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which voluntary organisations have been involved in developing his Department's plans for responding to an influenza pandemic; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that such organisations assist the implementation of those plans.

Dawn Primarolo: The following organisations have been involved in developing the Department's plans for responding to an influenza pandemic: the British Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Women's Royal Voluntary Society Disaster Action, the Samaritans, Salvation Army and other smaller organisations who are members of the Voluntary Sector Civil Protection Forum.
	In the draft "Pandemic Influenza: Guidance on planning for vulnerable groups", published on the Department's website last year, primary care trusts and Local Resilience Forums have also been encouraged to involve third sector (voluntary) organisations in their planning for an influenza pandemic. A copy of the draft has been placed in the Library.
	Specific advice and information leaflets for third sector organisations have been developed for the Department of Health. Drafts of the leaflets were presented to the Voluntary Sector Civil Protection Forum last November 2008. We will be seeking to publish them in May 2009.

NHS: Accidents

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of staff hours lost and  (b) other costs to the NHS arising from workplace accidents in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: Data relating to the number of staff hours lost due to accidents in the workplace are not collected centrally. National health service trusts and foundation trusts, as employers in their own right, may collect this information for their own purposes.
	The National Health Service Litigation Authority has supplied the following figures covering claims already paid to staff and outstanding costs to staff for each of the last three years in respect of the employers liability cover that they provide for NHS organisations. Costs include legal costs for both claimant and defence parties, and costs for damages. Employees have up to three years in which to register a claim.
	
		
			   Incident year 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Number of claims 2,366 2,090 1,011 
			 Outstanding estimate 25,392,037 23,079,422 13,178,698 
			 Already paid 9,401,526 3,420,344 210,794 
			 Total 34,793,563 26,499,766 13,389,492

NHS: Accountancy

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 1934-5W, on NHS: accountancy, what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects on the revenue of NHS organisations of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards from April 2009.

Ben Bradshaw: National health service organisations have submitted their 2009-10 International Financial Reporting Standards compliant financial plans and we are now undertaking detailed reviews with strategic health authorities to agree these plans.
	Once this agreement process has been completed, the detailed financial impact of the transition will be established.

NHS: Pay

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the Chief Executive of Monitor to discuss salary levels of senior management of NHS foundation trusts.

Ben Bradshaw: The Secretary of State for Health and the Chairman of Monitor have regular meetings to discuss various issues. The most recent of these was on 28 April 2009.

NHS: Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the administration costs of the NHS Pension scheme were in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Year ending 31 March  Administration costs ( £ million ) 
			 2000 15.4 
			 2001 17.1 
			 2002 18.9 
			 2003 19.4 
			 2004 19.6 
			 2005 23.0 
			 2006 27.6 
			 2007 23.5 
			 2008 21.5 
			 2009 21.2 
			  Note: In 2004, the Student Grants Unit (SGU) merged with NHS Pensions to become one strategic health authority, and the SGU admin costs are included in the figures for years ending 2005 and 2006. The SGU was then separated out again once NHS Pensions became part of the NHS Business Services Authority.  Source: NHS Pensions

NHS: Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff started claiming their pension from the NHS Pension scheme before the scheme's normal retirement age in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The information available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Retirements of Active NHS Pension scheme members 
			  Year ending 31 March  Age  Ill-health  Redundancy  Agreed voluntary early retirement (AVER)  Voluntary early retirement (VER) 
			 2004 14,259 3,374 760 — — 
			 2005 15,497 2,954 531 — — 
			 2006 16,004 2,590 410 62 1,597 
			 2007 19,415 2,422 891 195 3,107 
			 2008 21,078 2,201 940 138 3,216 
			  Note: Data on AVER and VER was not collected separately until the year ending 2006   Source: NHS Pensions

NHS: Redundancy

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time NHS staff have been made redundant in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available for the period or the form requested. Numbers of compulsory redundancies have been collected since 2006-07. In 2006-07 there were 2,330 redundancies and in 2007-08 there were 2,223.
	Information on the numbers of staff who were granted an early retirement pension on the grounds of redundancy is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Year ending 31 March  Numbers of redundancy retirements 
			 1999 1,345 
			 2000 925 
			 2001 917 
			 2002 589 
			 2003 494 
			 2004 760 
			 2005 531 
			 2006 410 
			 2007 891 
			 2008 940

NHS: Redundancy

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the policy of the NHS on the size of redundancy payments is; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Redundancy payments to NHS staff are made in line with the arrangements set out in section 16 of the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook. These came into force from 1 October 2006. At the same time changes were made to the National Health Service (Compensation for Premature Retirement) Regulations 2002 and the NHS Pension Scheme Regulations 1995. These were also negotiated in partnership with the NHS trade unions. Under these arrangements the standard redundancy terms are one months pay per year of reckonable service up to a maximum of 24 months pay. Members aged over the minimum pension age may choose to use their redundancy payment to pay for their retirement pension to be paid on redundancy without reduction. The previous redundancy arrangements involving enhancements of service of up to 10 years are being phased out and will cease to apply completely from October 2011.
	Section 16 makes clear that before making staff redundant employers should seek suitable alternative employment either in their own organisation or with another NHS employer.

Nurses: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average ratio of nurses to patients was at each hospital in Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The average ratio of nurses to patients at each hospital in Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years is not held centrally.

Patient Rights

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2186W, on patient rights, what the financial levers will be in the standard contracts from April 2010; and what the measures of and definitions for overriding clinical justification are.

Ann Keen: Progress is being made to develop the levers that would fit into the current structure of the contracts. The options will be tested prior to final decisions being taken later in the year for implementation in April 2010.
	The local national health service, rather than the Department, is best placed to make final decisions about what constitutes a clinical justification of mixed sex accommodation for an individual patient. To assist with such local determination, the Department will shortly be issuing definitional guidance relating to emergency admissions, day treatment, critical care environments, children and young people, as well as services used by transsexual people and gender variant children.

Strokes

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) women and  (b) men aged (i) under 30 years, (ii) between 30 and 50 years and (iii) over 50 years (A) were admitted to hospital and (B) died upon having a stroke in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The available information is in the following tables and notes.
	
		
			  Count of finished admission episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of stroke( 1) , by age and sex, 1998-99 to 2007-08: Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			   Ages 29 and under  Ages 30 to 50 
			   Male  Female  Not specified  Not known  Male  Female  Not specified  Not known 
			 2007-08 623 469 1 0 3,448 2,854 0 0 
			 2006-07 599 454 0 0 3,622 2,822 1 0 
			 2005-06 618 463 0 0 3,429 2,771 2 0 
			 2004-05 564 497 0 0 3,488 2,980 0 0 
			 2003-04 583 436 0 0 3,326 2,706 0 1 
			 2002-03 589 448 0 0 3,181 2,795 0 0 
			 2001-02 557 404 0 0 3,048 2,564 0 0 
			 2000-01 494 420 0 6 2,873 2,514 0 0 
			 1999-2000 542 447 0 0 2,894 2,656 2 4 
			 1998-99 547 450 1 0 3,047 2,669 0 1 
		
	
	
		
			   Ages 51 and over  Unknown age 
			   Male  Female  Not specified  Not known  Male  Female  Not specified  Not known 
			 2007-08 35,740 39,669 1 4 13 34 1 1 
			 2006-07 35,936 40,548 5 6 49 64 0 0 
			 2005-06 37,333 42,596 5 4 12 18 0 0 
			 2004-05 36,850 42,653 3 5 11 18 0 0 
			 2003-04 37,428 43,171 1 3 13 9 0 0 
			 2002-03 37,938 44,182 2 5 96 122 0 0 
			 2001-02 37,203 42,925 4 2 38 50 2 42 
			 2000-01 36,788 43,179 2 31 103 77 0 1 
			 1999-2000 38,667 45,617 4 97 50 47 0 1 
			 1998-99 39,496 45,985 23 32 69 54 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			   All ages 
			   Male  Female  Not specified  Not known 
			 2007-08 39,824 43,026 3 5 
			 2006-07 40,206 43,888 6 6 
			 2005-06 41,392 45,848 7 4 
			 2004-05 40,913 46,148 3 5 
			 2003-04 41,350 46,322 1 4 
			 2002-03 41,804 47,547 2 5 
			 2001-02 40,846 45,943 6 44 
			 2000-01 40,258 46,190 2 38 
			 1999-2000 42,153 48,769 6 102 
			 1998-99 43,159 49,158 24 33 
		
	
	
		
			  Count of discharge episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of stroke( 1)  and the patient died in hospital( 2) , by age and sex, 1998-99 to 2007-08: Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			   29 and under  30 to 50  51 and over 
			   Male  Female  Male  Female  Not known  Male  Female  Not specified  Not known 
			 2007-08 52 33 345 280 0 7,920 12,152 1 1 
			 2006-07 50 40 347 312 0 8,045 12,418 1 2 
			 2005-06 50 45 391 336 0 8,461 13,231 1 2 
			 2004-05 52 36 379 353 0 8,878 13,697 2 1 
			 2003-04 53 32 401 357 0 9,378 14,293 1 1 
			 2002-03 58 42 389 377 0 9,984 14,975 0 2 
			 2001-02 60 38 368 361 0 9,849 14,602 0 2 
			 2000-01 66 37 376 334 0 9,888 14,777 0 10 
			 1999-2000 57 48 346 397 0 10,502 15,475 0 46 
			 1998-99 52 49 418 392 1 11,217 16,486 3 8 
		
	
	
		
			   Unknown  All ages 
			   Male  Female  Not specified  Not known  Male  Female  Not specified  Not known 
			 2007-08 3 12 1 1 8,320 12,477 2 2 
			 2006-07 6 12 0 0 8,448 12,782 1 2 
			 2005-06 2 7 0 0 8,904 13,619 1 2 
			 2004-05 2 7 0 0 9,311 14,093 2 1 
			 2003-04 3 2 0 0 9,835 14,684 1 1 
			 2002-03 24 48 0 0 10,455 15,442 0 2 
			 2001-02 13 20 0 11 10,290 15,021 0 13 
			 2000-01 30 28 0 0 10,360 15,176 0 10 
			 1999-2000 9 19 0 0 10,914 15,939 0 46 
			 1998-99 28 21 0 0 11,715 16,948 3 9 
		
	
	
		
			  Count of discharge episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of stroke( 1) , by age and sex, 1998-99 to 2007-08: Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			   29 and under  30 to 50 
			   Male  Female  Not specified  Not known  Male  Female  Not specified  Not known 
			 2007-08 663 502 1 0 3,776 3,077 0 0 
			 2006-07 626 477 0 0 3,912 3,012 1 0 
			 2005-06 644 472 0 0 3,648 2,945 3 0 
			 2004-05 581 503 0 0 3,694 3,136 0 0 
			 2003-04 588 443 0 0 3,488 2,821 0 1 
			 2002-03 590 464 0 0 3,306 2,920 0 0 
			 2001-02 565 415 0 0 3,092 2,620 0 0 
			 2000-01 504 427 0 6 2,940 2,561 0 0 
			 1999-2000 558 455 0 0 2,912 2,718 2 4 
			 1998-99 560 463 1 0 3,073 2,702 0 1 
		
	
	—continued
	
		
			   51 and over  Unknown 
			   Male  Female  Not specified  Not known  Male  Female  Not specified  Not known 
			 2007-08 40,759 45,698 1 4 15 45 1 1 
			 2006-07 40,681 46,186 8 7 52 70 0 0 
			 2005-06 41,408 47,437 11 4 14 20 0 0 
			 2004-05 40,334 46,892 4 5 13 21 0 0 
			 2003-04 40,231 46,754 1 3 14 11 0 0 
			 2002-03 40,464 47,381 2 5 99 122 0 0 
			 2001-02 38,390 44,633 4 3 40 55 2 48 
			 2000-01 37,668 44,456 2 34 113 84 4 1 
			 1999-2000 39,198 46,508 4 100 36 35 0 1 
			 1998-99 40,519 47,337 23 34 68 54 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			   All ages 
			   Male  Female  Not specified  Not known 
			 2007-08 45,213 49,322 3 5 
			 2006-07 45,271 49,745 9 7 
			 2005-06 45,714 50,874 14 4 
			 2004-05 44,622 50,552 4 5 
			 2003-04 44,321 50,029 1 4 
			 2002-03 44,459 50,887 2 5 
			 2001-02 42,087 47,723 6 51 
			 2000-01 41,225 47,528 6 41 
			 1999-2000 42,704 49,716 6 105 
			 1998-99 44,220 50,556 24 35 
			  Notes: 1. Primary diagnosis: The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. (1) Primary diagnosis codes used: 160 Subarachnoid haemorrhage 161 Intracerebral haemorrhage 162 Other nontraumatic intracranial haemorrhage 163 Cerebral infarction 164 Stroke not specified as haemorrhage or infarction 2. Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 3. Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 4. Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in the data, i.e. the data are ungrossed. 5. Discharges: A discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay (a spell), where the patient is discharged from the hospital (this includes transfer to another hospital). 6. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 7. Deaths: HES data cannot be used to determine the cause of death of a patient while in hospital. Deaths recorded on the HES database may be analysed by the main diagnosis for which the patient was being treated during their stay in hospital, which may not necessarily be the underlying cause of death. For example, a patient admitted for a hernia operation (with a primary diagnosis of hernia) may die from an unrelated a heart attack. The Office for National Statistics collects information on the cause of death, wherever it occurs, based on the death certificate and should be the source of data for analyses on cause of death. (2) A death in hospital is coded as discharge method = 4 (died).  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics {HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 391W, on trade unions, which trade unions his Department's agencies recognise.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the right hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 391W. There has been no change in the unions recognised by the Department and its agencies since that time.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Asbestos: Schools

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what relevant interests were declared by those responsible for  (a) advice on and  (b) drafting of the Health and Safety Executive report RR624. Further measurements of fibre concentrations in CLASP construction buildings.

Jonathan R Shaw: This project was funded by HSE to support a working group set up to consider asbestos risks in CLASP and other system-built schools. The working group was made up of specialists from central and local government organisations—including the author of the report RR624, a Principal Scientist employed as a civil servant by the Health and Safety Laboratory. Individual working group members declared no interests. The working group did however include a representative of SCAPE—the trading arm of CLASP. Input from this commercial organisation was necessary to provide information on the design and location of CLASP buildings.

Benefits Rules

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Government plans to relax the 16-hour rule relating to work and benefits; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: We have no plans to relax the remunerative work rule whereby a person may not claim working-age benefits if they are working for more than 16-hours a week. This rule has been designed to strike a balance between providing for need and maintaining work incentives.
	It is inevitable that there must be a cut-off point at which work is regarded as full-time in any income-related scheme intended to help people who are unable to support themselves by working. People on low incomes who work for 16-hours or more a week have access to working tax credit. Furthermore, benefits such as housing benefit and council tax benefit are in-work, as well as out-of-work benefits, and are specifically designed to ensure that people have sufficient encouragement to find and to remain in work, particularly when their income from that employment is low.

Construction: Safety

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria applied to the selection of buildings in the Health and Safety Executive report RR624 - Further measurements of fibre concentrations in CLASP construction buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The duty holders for all CLASP system built schools were asked in 2006 to check for asbestos and seal it securely if it was present.
	Report RR624 was published in 2008 and contains the results of a sampling survey which was designed to see if remedial work to seal and secure asbestos had been done effectively and if there was any potential for residual risks of exposure to asbestos.
	In order to obtain accurate results it was important to complete the sampling in normal school operating conditions. This required considerable disruption to classroom activities. Therefore the research team selected buildings from a number of volunteer organisations who were willing to co-operate in providing access and tolerate the disruption. Seven school buildings were tested where remedial work on asbestos had already been completed but samples were also taken in two locations where no work had been done.
	The analysis of 28 air samples from the seven schools did not detect any asbestos.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in his Department are suspended; how many are suspended on full pay; for how long each has been suspended; and what the reasons are for any such suspensions.

Tony McNulty: As at 21 April 2009, nine people are suspended on full pay.
	
		
			  Length of time suspended from duty  Number of employees 
			 0-6 months 4 
			 6-12 months 3 
			 12 plus months 2 
			 Total 9 
		
	
	The Department for Work and Pensions Records the numbers of staff on suspension under a single category of "absence". Information is not recorded on our HR System to break this down further.
	To provide information in the format requested would be at disproportionate cost and not in line with departmental policy, on the grounds of confidentiality.

Employment: Conferences

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what expenditure under what budgetary headings was incurred by his Department in relation to the Employment Summit held on 12 January 2009.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 23 April 2009
	The Employment summit was held at the Science museum in London on 12 January. The total cost of the event was £162,076. The costs are broken down by budgetary headings in the following table.
	
		
			  Expenditure breakdown of Employment summit held on 12 January 2009 
			   £ 
			 Catering Costs 5,641 
			 Venue Hire 13,950 
			 Event Management 142,485 
			 Total 162,076 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded up to the nearest pound. 2. Event management covers conference organisation, delegate contact, staging, interactive technology, insurance and photography.  Source: DWP Communications Directorate.

Employment: Fife

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies were advertised in job centres in North East Fife constituency in each month of 2008; and for how long on average such vacancies were advertised.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	The coverage of these figures relates only to vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus and as such represent a market share of vacancies throughout the whole economy. This proportion varies over time, according to the occupation of the vacancy and industry of the employer, and by local area. Comprehensive estimates of all job vacancies (not just those notified to Jobcentre Plus) are available from the monthly ONS Vacancy Survey since April 2001, based on a sample of some 6,000 enterprises. However, the ONS survey is currently designed to provide national estimates only.
	
		
			  Vacancies advertised in North East Fife parliamentary constituency in each month of 2008 
			   Live unfilled vacancies  Median duration (days between notification and closure) 
			 January 182 40.2 
			 February 315 20.1 
			 March 443 14.6 
			 April 426 21.2 
			 May 341 12.9 
			 June 394 20.9 
			 July 549 6.4 
			 August 421 28.5 
			 September 456 22.1 
			 October 289 21.1 
			 November 172 19.4 
			 December 181 11.2 
			  Notes: 1. Data are unrounded. 2. The stocks of live unfilled vacancies reflect more accurately job opportunities available via Jobcentre Plus. In the case of unfilled vacancies, use of the figures on live vacancies is recommended (i.e. excluding suspended vacancies), and this is the default option. Live vacancies may still include some vacancies which have already been filled or are otherwise no longer open to recruits, due to natural lags in procedures for following up vacancies with employers. 3. The median duration (in days) is calculated by ranking all the vacancies in order of ascending duration and taking the middle value. Half the vacancies will have a duration greater than the median, and half will have a duration less than the median. For most purposes, the median will give a more representative measure of the average duration a mean figure tends to be distorted by a small number of vacancies that have very long durations. The median duration is available using live unfilled vacancy figures only. 4. These figures are published at: www.nomisweb.co.uk  Source: Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System.

European Union

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what visits he has made to Brussels on official business in the last three months.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Secretary of State has not made any visits to Brussels on official business in the last three months.

Health and Safety Executive: Economic Situation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) summits,  (b) conferences and  (c) seminars the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has held since January 2008 at which the primary subject for discussion was the effect of the economic situation on matters within the HSE's responsibility.

Jonathan R Shaw: HSE has not identified a need to convene any special summits or conferences on the impact of the economic downturn. Workers and others should still expect to be properly protected against the very real risks presented by work activities. It is particularly important during the downturn and the eventual recovery that hard won standards of health and safety be maintained; standards for which the UK should rightly be proud. HSE will not back away from pursuing enforcement action where necessary against those who seek to avoid or abuse their legal responsibilities. HSE is not unsympathetic however to the effects of the downturn and is keeping the situation under review. It is in regular contact with key stakeholders elsewhere in Government, in trade unions, in key business sectors and in academia. The current priority themes of leadership, competence and worker involvement underpinned by a commonsense and proportionate approach to risk management are exactly those necessary for business survival and recovery.

Housing Benefit: Fraud

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were successfully prosecuted for housing benefit fraud in London in the last three years for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The available information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Successful housing benefit prosecutions in London for the last three years for which data is available 
			 2005-06 696 
			 2006-07 723 
			 2007-08 697 
			  Notes: 1. Housing benefit operational database (HoBOD) data is populated by housing benefit administrative returns supplied from local authorities. 2. The administrative returns are management information data and are not subject to further quality assurance from the Department such as performing any imputation for missing values.  Source: Housing benefit operational database' located at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hobod/

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many frontline Jobcentre Plus staff there were in each Jobcentre Plus district in each quarter of the last two years;
	(2)  how many staff have left positions in Jobcentre Plus in each region in each month of the last two years.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Jobcentre Plus: Standards

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the ability of Jobcentre Plus staff to deliver the full range of services provided under re-employment and training programmes.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed jobseeker's allowance in each of the last five years; and what proportion of the population in  (a) the UK,  (b) each of the Scottish regions and  (c) North East Fife constituency claimed the allowance in each such year.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Area  March 2005  %  of population  March 2006  %  of population  March 200 7  %  of population  March 200 8  %  of population  March 200 9  %  of population 
			 United Kingdom 882,298 2.4 989,136 2.6 956,022 2.5 842,827 2.2 1,523,482 4.0 
			
			 Scotland 93,577 2.9 95,361 3.0 87,397 2.7 75,249 2.3 126,452 3.9 
			 Aberdeen City 2,572 1.9 2,309 1.7 2,034 1.5 1,680 1.2 2,743 2.0 
			 Aberdeenshire 1,922 1.3 1,616 1.1 1,375 0.9 1,143 0.8 2,033 1.4 
			 Angus 1,934 3.0 1,864 2.9 1,641 2.5 1,252 1.9 2,163 3.3 
			 Argyll & Bute 1,471 2.7 1,520 2.8 1,380 2.6 1,200 2.2 1,797 3.3 
			 Clackmannanshire 1,037 3.4 1,018 3.3 980 2.9 822 2.5 1,593 4.8 
			 Dumfries & Galloway 2,292 2.6 2,423 2.8 2,331 2.7 2,038 2.4 3,199 3.7 
			 Dundee City 3,913 4.4 3,901 4.4 3,633 4.1 3,266 3.6 4,710 5.3 
			 East Ayrshire 3,316 4.5 3,192 4.3 2,944 3.9 2,523 3.3 4,043 5.3 
			 East Dunbartonshire 1,106 1.7 1,149 1.8 994 1.5 881 1.4 1,674 2.6 
			 East Lothian 952 1.8 852 1.6 794 1.3 702 1.2 1,615 2.7 
			 East Renfrewshire 841 1.6 811 1.5 745 1.2 595 1.0 1,166 1.9 
			 Edinburgh, City of 7,077 2.3 7,266 2.3 6,526 2.0 5,546 1.7 9,374 2.9 
			 Eilean Siar 569 3.7 551 3.6 577 3.1 385 2.1 658 3.5 
			 Falkirk 2,766 3.0 2,653 2.8 2,494 2.5 2,088 2.1 4,131 4.1 
			 Fife 7,947 3.6 8,418 3.8 7,476 3.4 6,246 2.8 10,062 4.5 
			 Glasgow City 15,952 4.2 16,365 4.2 15,374 4.0 14,374 3.7 21,017 5.4 
			 Highland 3,413 2.6 3,259 2.5 2,938 2.2 2,419 1.8 4,238 3.1 
			 Inverclyde 2,459 4.9 2,379 4.7 2,278 4.6 1,891 3.8 2,545 5.1 
			 Midlothian 1,050 2.2 1,173 2.4 953 2.0 849 1.7 1,623 3.3 
			 Moray 1,175 2.2 1,345 2.5 1,199 2.3 1,040 2.0 1,506 2.9 
			 North Ayrshire 3,752 4.6 4,103 5.0 3,803 4.6 3,305 4.0 4,862 5.9 
			 North Lanarkshire 6,439 3.2 6,644 3.3 5,987 2.9 5,292 2.6 10,370 5.1 
			 Orkney Islands 193 1.7 193 1.6 172 1.4 115 1.0 173 1.5 
			 Perth & Kinross 1,557 1.9 1,662 2.0 1,491 1.8 1,022 1.2 2,037 2.4 
			 Renfrewshire 3,283 3.1 3,221 3.0 3,049 2.9 2,654 2.5 4,517 4.3 
			 Scottish Borders 1,143 1.8 1,243 1.9 1,093 1.7 954 1.5 2,013 3.1 
			 Shetland Islands 254 1.9 270 2.0 199 1.5 128 1.0 191 1.4 
			 South Ayrshire 2,195 3.3 2,373 3.6 2,054 3.1 1,697 2.6 2,815 4.3 
			 South Lanarkshire 4,801 2.5 5,009 2.6 4,667 2.4 3,899 2.0 7,889 4.1 
			 Stirling 1,118 2.1 1,173 2.2 1,075 2.0 882 1.6 1,840 3.4 
			 West Dunbartonshire 2,596 4.5 2,724 4.7 2,552 4.4 2,027 3.5 3,377 5.9 
			 West Lothian 2,482 2.4 2,682 2.5 2,589 2.4 2,334 2.2 4,478 4.2 
			 North East Fife Parliamentary Constituency 907 1.8 926 1.8 851 1.6 650 1.3 1,093 2.1 
			  Notes:  1. Caseloads are unrounded.  2. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.  3. Figures include clerically held cases. 4. Claimant count data is published at https://www.nomisweb.co.uk  Source:  100 per cent. count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems, and Population Estimates Unit, ONS

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed jobseeker's allowance in  (a) the UK and  (b) (i) Birmingham, (ii) Leeds, (iii) Glasgow, (iv) Sheffield, (v) Hull, (vi) Manchester, (vii) Bradford, (viii) Kirklees, (ix) Liverpool, (x) Bristol and (xi) London in (A) February 2008 and (B) February 2009.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 24 April 2009
	Available information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in February 2008 and February 2009 in the UK, local authorities and London (Government office region). 
			   February 2008  February 2009 
			 United Kingdom 848,940 1,459,840 
			  Local authorities   
			 Birmingham 33,275 45,655 
			 Leeds 12,630 21,560 
			 Glasgow City 14,405 20,275 
			 Sheffield 8,465 14,015 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 8,060 13,365 
			 Manchester 10,835 16,070 
			 Bradford 9,240 14,320 
			 Kirklees 5,980 10,960 
			 Liverpool 15,210 20,055 
			 Bristol, City of 5,055 9,770 
			  Government office region   
			 London 132,540 189,930 
			  Notes: 1. Data are rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Data are published at https://www.nomisweb.co.uk  Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems.

Local Employment Partnerships

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what budget has been allocated for the organisation of the Local Employment Partnership Awards 2009; and how much  (a) each of the 11 local award ceremonies and  (b) the grand final are expected to cost.

Tony McNulty: The Local Employment Partnerships Awards 2009 are an integral part of our strategy to support the delivery of LEPs across Great Britain. We want more employers to work through LEPs so that unemployed people have a better chance to get back to work.
	The awards have been established to highlight the major benefits that LEP participation have brought to employers and partners and to celebrate the success of individual employees who have found sustainable work through the programme. So far more than 140,000 people have found jobs with more than 20,000 employers through LEPs.
	An overall budget of £663,000 has been allocated to support this work. Final figures for the costs of the events will not be known until all 12 have been delivered.

Nuclear Power: AWE Burghfield

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements the Health and Safety Executive has made for consultation on proposed changes to the nuclear licensed site boundary at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield.

Jonathan R Shaw: The licensing of nuclear installations is undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the powers provided by the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (NIA65). In accordance with the requirements of section 3(1 A) of NIA65, HSE consulted the Environment Agency about the application from the site licensee, AWE plc, for a replacement nuclear site licence for Burghfield. The new site licence was required to enable AWE plc to bring additional land into the licensed enclave to accommodate the construction of replacement facilities.
	HSE also has a discretionary power under section 3(3) of the NI Act to direct a licence applicant to serve notice on certain public bodies local to the site in question. HSE concluded that public body notification was not required in respect of this application because it will not alter the nature of the activities undertaken in the licensed area, nor impact on the competence and capability of the licensee. Furthermore such bodies would be briefed on the relicensing via the AWE plc Local Liaison Committee (LLC) and that the development would be subject to the usual planning processes.

Pathways to Work

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information his Department holds on the performance of  (a) private sector providers and  (b) in-house teams providing Pathways to Work schemes from the start of the contracts to the end of October 2008.

Tony McNulty: Official Statistics on the performance of private sector providers delivering Pathways to Work Schemes will be available in summer 2009.
	The Department does collect high level, aggregate management information on Provider Led Pathways performance. It is to be expected that in the normal course of managing their business, Departments will have available and use more recent very often incomplete data, from a range of sources, than are available from Official Statistics at a particular point in time, but this has not been quality assured and would give an incomplete picture of performance.
	The Department publishes regular performance monitoring reports for Jobcentre Plus led Pathways. The latest published official statistics available show that up to September 2008, there had been 1,038,910 starts to the programme and the total number of job entries was 143,650 up to March 2008.

Social Security Benefits

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value was in  (a) real and  (b) cash terms of (i) the state pension, (ii) pension credit, (iii) income support and (iv) jobseeker's allowance for each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The available information on benefit rates up to 2008-09 has been placed in the Library. Real terms rates are presented in April 2008 prices.
	Benefit rates which came into effect on 6 April 2009 are shown in the following table. It is not possible to present the real terms rates in April 2009 prices at this time as the April 2009 Retail Price and ROSSI index figures will not be published until 19 May 2009.
	
		
			  Benefit  April 2009 rate (actual rate) (£) 
			 Basic State Pension (single pensioner)(1,2) 95.25 
			 Basic State Pension (couples aged 60 and over)(1,3) 152.30 
			 Pension Credit (single person aged 60 and over)(4) 130.00 
			 Pension Credit (couples aged 60 and over)(4) 198.45 
			 Income Support (single claimant aged 18  to 24)(5) 50.95 
			 Income Support (single claimant aged 25+)(5) 64.30 
			 Income Support (couple both aged 18+)(5) 100.95 
			 (1) The rates quoted are standard rates for those with full qualifying contributions records. (2) Man or woman under 80 on own insurance. £0.25 addition for over 80-year-olds. (3) This is the rate where the wife's state pension is based on the husband's contributions. Where it is based on her own contributions, the state pension will be twice that of a single pensioner if both individuals are entitled to 100 per cent. state pensions. £0.25 addition for over 80-year-olds. (4) For all pension ages. Excludes all premiums other than pensioner premium. (5) The rates quoted are standard rates. There are also additional payments for dependent child(ren), disability, caring responsibilities, etc.  Note: JSA rates are the same as those for income support.

Social Security Benefits: Asylum

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who successfully claimed asylum since 1997 have  (a) claimed and  (b) been granted benefits.

Tony McNulty: Once a person has been granted leave to remain, they can apply for benefits but no record is kept of the fact that they had previously claimed asylum.

Swimming Pools: Safety

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance the Health and Safety Executive publishes on safety in municipal swimming pools.

Jonathan R Shaw: The guidance on safety in swimming pools published by the Health and Safety Executive is "Managing health and safety in swimming pools - HSG179", which is available from HSE Books. This is supplemented by additional advice held on the entertainment and leisure industry pages on the HSE website.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 865, on trade unions, what office facilities his Department provides for the exclusive use of each recognised trade union; and what the notional monetary value of such provision was in 2008-09.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information is as follows:
	1. The Department for Work and Pensions allows the following office facilities for the use of its recognised trade unions:
	A room, wherever possible, is made available for the use of the trade union side. Failing this, trade union representatives are allowed the use of private rooms where necessary, for example, to enable private discussions with individual union members.
	The trade unions are provided with sufficient furniture e.g. desks, lockable pedestals and filing cabinets, to enable them to carry out their duties efficiently.
	Trade union representatives are allowed the use of official telephones for union activities permitted within the DWP Employee Relations framework.
	Trade union representatives are allowed the use of departmental personal computers, where available, for work in respect of their representational duties. They may also be allowed access to e-mail facilities.
	The local union branch may have notice board facilities on official premises, where they are available.
	Trade union representatives are allowed reasonable use of office services and provisions for essential trade union activities, provided it does not interfere with official work and they are not used excessively. This could include, for example, use of typists, the internal courier, facsimile machines, photocopiers and stationery.
	2. The information requested on what the notional monetary value of such provision was in 2008-09 is not available.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 865W, on trade unions, which trade unions his Department's agencies recognise.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions and its Executive agencies, Jobcentre Plus and the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) recognise three trade unions as representing members of staff; the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), FDA and Prospect.

Winter Fuel Payments: North East

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount paid to pensioner households in Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency in winter fuel payments in 2008-09.

Rosie Winterton: Actual expenditure data are not yet available for 2008-09 and forecasts of benefit expenditure are not produced at constituency level. However, in 2007-08, expenditure on winter fuel payments in the parliamentary constituency of Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland was £3.5 million.
	 Notes:
	1. Winter fuel payments are paid to people aged 60 and over.
	2. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	 Source:
	Information directorate 100 per cent. data.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer Question 248120 on the UK's membership of the Euro, tabled by the hon. Member for Forest of Dean on 12 January 2009.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 23 April 2009
	I replied to the hon. Member's question on 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 115W.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer Question 263741, on Woolworth, tabled by the hon. Member for Forest of Dean on 11 March 2009.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 23 April 2009
	I replied to the hon. Member's question on 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 119W.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the Review of Council Housing Finance to be completed; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: We expect the work of the review to conclude shortly and to make a statement over the summer.

Council Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what floor area space standards are expected of  (a) one,  (b) two and  (c) three bedroom homes in local authority high density housing schemes.

Iain Wright: The Government's Planning Policy Statement 3: "Housing" (PPS3) is clear on the need to achieve high quality new housing, including promoting appropriate designs and layouts, encouraging innovative approaches to help deliver high quality outcomes, and ensuring developments at all densities contribute positively to making places better for people.
	As regards social housing the Government's new delivery body, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), is currently reviewing the benchmarks for high quality urban design, construction and environmental sustainability, including any space standards for new homes funded by the public sector.
	In the meantime the HCA is continuing to operate under the regimes set in place by the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships. Under these, the Housing Corporation Design and Quality Strategy and Standards set out the requirements and recommendations for housing projects which receive Social Housing Grant, and the English Partnerships Housing Quality Indicators set out requirements for housing developments that receive funding from the property and regeneration programmes. Both sets of requirements include a space standard. Details are available through the internet. The relevant links are
	http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/qualitystandards.htm
	http://www.housingcorp.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.10783
	http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/design_quality_standards
	Where local authorities build or acquire homes with funding from the HCA they will be expected to meet the relevant conditions of the grant, and compliance with development standards is one of these.

Derelict Land: Gardens

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 1503-05W, on gardens, 
	(1)  how long she expects the  (a) first and  (b) second stage of her Department's review into the effect of development on gardens to take; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  on what date her Department wrote to local planning authorities in England to request data on the number of planning permissions granted or refused for housing development within the cortilage of an existing house; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the letter.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the letter my Department wrote to all local planning authorities in England to request data for the review of evidence on 3 April 2009. A copy of the letter was placed in the library (reference DEP2009-1135) on 17 April 2009.

Eco-Towns

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in respect of how many of the potential eco-towns sites which appeared on her Department's shortlist in April 2008 construction has commenced.

Margaret Beckett: No construction work related to eco-towns has commenced in those locations shortlisted as part of our programmes of consultation, which began in April 2008, and was pursued in more detail in November 2008. The consultation ended on 30 April and following consideration of all the responses we will publish the final Eco-towns Planning Policy Statement and list of locations with potential to be an eco-town. However, before any construction work related to eco-towns can commence individual schemes will need to submit planning applications, which will be for local authorities to determine through the local planning process.

Energy Performance Certificates

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what penalties may be imposed on  (a) social and  (b) private rented sector landlords who do not supply prospective tenants with an energy performance certificate for a property; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: A fixed penalty of £200 is applicable to landlords that do not provide prospective tenants in either the social or private rented sectors with a valid Energy Performance Certificate.

Energy Performance Certificates

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of roll-out of energy performance certificates; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: We have commissioned research to evaluate the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which will include an assessment of the effectiveness of the roll-out of Energy Performance Certificates. The research is due to be completed in October 2009.

Fire Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of costs of business rates on fire stations on the level of service provided by fire and rescue services; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: No assessment has been made regarding the impact of business rates on fire stations and the level of service they provide.

Fire Services: Taunton

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of maintaining the Regional Fire Control Centre in Taunton was in each month since April 2008.

Sadiq Khan: The cost of maintaining the regional Fire Control Centre in Taunton from April 2008 to December 2008 has been approximately £140,000 per month. We would expect up to final cut-over in the South West in October 2011, costs would remain at approximately the same level.

Fire Services: Warrington

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the FiReControl centre in Warrington  (a) has cost to date and  (b) is expected to cost in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The running costs of the FiReControl centre in Warrington from practical completion on 1 July 2008 to the end of March 2009 is approximately £710,000. The expected running cost for the current financial year (April 2009 to March 2010) is £1,850,000. For each of the following four years the running cost of the building is expected to be approximately £2,000,000 per year.

Home Information Packs

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the changes in average cost of a home information pack as a result of the changes to the regulations which became effective on 6 April 2009.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 24 April 2009,  Official Report, column 911W.

Home Information Packs

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the average price of a home information pack in each year since the packs were introduced.

Margaret Beckett: The cost of a home information pack (HIP) is set by the market and the Government have no role in this. However, industry feedback indicates that the average cost of a HIP has fallen from £300-£350 (excluding VAT) following their introduction in 2007 to £200-£300 (excluding VAT).

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) gifts,  (b) losses and  (c) special payments were reported to her Department as having been received by the (i) Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies and (ii) Tenant Services Authority in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: In the last three years, it has not been a requirement under the terms of the management statements or framework documents of the Homes and Communities Agency, the Tenant Services Authority or their predecessors (English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and the Academy for Sustainable Communities) to report to the Department gifts received. Instead the bodies have been required to maintain their own registers of gifts received.
	It is unclear as to how an organisation might receive a loss, so it has not been possible to provide information on this issue.
	The Housing Corporation received the following special payments in the last three years:
	 2006-07
	Termination payment to contractor
	Termination payment to administrator of Elonex plc
	 2007- 08
	No special payments.
	Audited information for 2008-09 is not yet available, but will be made available in the respective organisations annual reports and accounts, all of which will be laid before Parliament.

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what losses were incurred by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies as a result of legal claims being  (a) waived and  (b) abandoned in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what losses attributable to constructive losses the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies incurred in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what losses attributable to the writing off of accountable stores the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies incurred in each of the last five years;
	(4)  what losses attributable to overpayments of  (a) salaries,  (b) wages,  (c) pensions and  (d) allowances the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies incurred in each of the last five years.

Margaret Beckett: The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the (investment arm of the) Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the agency from Communities and Local Government.
	It is not possible to disaggregate losses for the investment arm of the Housing Corporation without incurring disproportionate costs.
	For the Homes and Communities Agency, English Partnerships, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities the answers are:
	There were no losses incurred as a result of legal claims being waived and abandoned in each of the last five years.
	There were no losses incurred due to constructive losses in each of the last five years.
	There were no losses incurred due to the writing off of accountable stores in each of the last five years.
	There have been no losses as a result of overpayment of salaries, wages or allowances during the period stated. Since 1 April 2004 there have been unrecovered pensions to the value of £843.28 as a result of death of pensioners. This loss is met by the EP/HCA Pension Scheme and not the employer.

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many contracts were let by the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessor bodies in which competitive tendering was not employed in each of the last three years; and what the monetary value of each such contract was.

Margaret Beckett: Since the Homes and Communities Agency's inception on 1 December 2008, it has let six contracts by single tender to a total value of £102,190. These were valued at £25,000, £24,950, £25,000, £19,500 and £7,740 and £8,156.
	The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency were English Partnerships, the (investment arm of the) Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the Agency from Communities and Local Government.
	The Academy for Sustainable Communities entered into five contracts by single tender between 2006-07 and 2008-09 as follows:
	 2006-07:
	One contract valued at £45,000
	 2007-08:
	Two contracts valued at £66,304.60 and £4,261.60
	 2008-09 (to inception of HCA on 1 December 2008):
	Two contracts valued at £74,000 and £94,400.
	I am unable to provide details of single tender contracts awarded by English Partnerships as no central record was held. Similarly, I am unable to provide details of single tender actions undertaken by the investment arm of the Housing Corporation as it is not possible to differentiate between Housing Corporation spend on the basis of whether it related to that organisation's investment or regulation activities, the latter of which are now the responsibility of the Tenants Services Authority.

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 1111-12W, on Homes and Communities Agency: finance, how much of the additional funding for the Homes and Communities Agency will be brought forward from funding allocations for future years.

Margaret Beckett: None of the additional funding for the Homes and Communities Agency will be brought forward from funding allocations for future years.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the draft housing revenue account subsidy determination 2009-10 amending determination for 2009, what recent assessment her Department has made of the net cash loss to participating local authorities as a result of compensation based on guideline rents rather than actual average rent per property.

Iain Wright: No detailed assessment has been made: the exact details will depend both on rents in 2008-09 and what authorities had originally planned for in 2009-10. The latter data are not available. We expect to respond shortly to the consultation on the amending determination.

Housing: Rent Back

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to provide advice on buy and let back schemes to those home owners experiencing financial difficulties.

Margaret Beckett: We are a taking a range of actions to provide advice to homeowners who may be considering entering private sale and rent back (SRB) arrangements.
	Last year we published a consumer advice leaflet with the National Homelessness Advice Service (NHAS), "Are you worried about your mortgage? Get advice now". The leaflet highlighted the risks associated with signing up to SRB schemes 'that appear too good to be true' and was widely disseminated throughout England via MPs' offices, local authorities and advice agencies. As part of the Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol the NHAS leaflet must be sent to homeowners threatened with repossession.
	A revised leaflet was issued in January 2009 highlighting the Government's Mortgage Rescue scheme (MRS), which offers households a 'Government Mortgage to Rent' option. This provides greater protection to "vulnerable" households (families with dependent children, or those containing elderly, ill or disabled people, who can no longer afford their repayments and who would be legally entitled to homelessness assistance if repossessed) targeted by SRB companies by allowing households to sell their property at market value to a housing association and becoming tenants of the housing association—initially on a three-year assured shorthold tenancy—paying an intermediate rent.
	We have worked closely with stakeholders to raise awareness among local authority officers of the need to ensure the risks associated with SRBs are well understood by all parties.
	We have also published information about the need for households at risk of repossession to be aware of SRB schemes and seek advice from an independent adviser on the Direct Gov website as part of the Government's 'Real help now' campaign.

Housing: HomeBuy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average income has been of a  (a) first-time buyer,  (b) social tenant and  (c) key worker taking part in the (i) MyChoiceHomeBuy, (ii) HomeBuy Direct and (iii) OwnHome initiative, since the inception of each initiative.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 216-17W.
	The average household income figures provided for My Choice HomeBuy and Own Home Initiative are for 1 April 2008 to 28 February 2009.

Housing: HomeBuy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what procedure is followed by developers wishing to withdraw a property from a Homebuy scheme.

Margaret Beckett: Where a new build property has been developed with grant for one of the HomeBuy schemes, a developer has to get consent to sell the property outside the affordable housing sector. For RSLs this requires an application to the TSA for a section 9 consent to dispose. This constitutes a relevant event and triggers grant recycling. For non-RSL investment partners (including private sector developers) where properties are retained by the developer on completion, the rentcharge requires that they seek consent from the HCA before selling. If such consent were given, under the rentcharge, grant would be repaid with a link to value, the calculation for which is set out in the rentcharge. Generally, where grant is paid to private sector developers, at build completion, ownership and management is transferred to an RSL, in which case the requirements outlined above in relation to RSLs would apply.
	For developers who have signed up to sell homes as part of the HomeBuy Direct, schemes can be withdrawn from the scheme with the consent of the HCA. As HomeBuy Direct is currently configured, there is no grant to repay in these circumstances because grant is not paid until the property is sold.

Housing: HomeBuy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) New Build Homebuy and  (b) Open Market Homebuy completions there were in each region in each of the last three months.

Margaret Beckett: The number of new build HomeBuy and open market HomeBuy completions funded through the Homes and Communities Agency in the each of the last three months of 2008-09 is as follows. These figures are provisional.
	
		
			   New build HomeBuy  Open market HomeBuy 
			   January  February  March  January  February  March 
			 East Midlands 43 30 53 33 20 32 
			 East of England 20 48 43 94 77 143 
			 London 2 27 240 190 178 200 
			 North East 78 17 450 6 7 2 
			 North West 17 30 126 25 44 34 
			 South East 34 109 204 160 162 196 
			 South West 28 186 919 88 58 51 
			 West Midlands 152 191 747 43 28 40 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 56 39 330 45 31 29 
			 National total 430 677 3,112 684 605 727 
			  Source: Homes and Communities Agency

Housing: HomeBuy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Social Homebuy sales there were in each region in each of the last three months.

Margaret Beckett: The following table shows the provisional figures for Social HomeBuy sales in each of the last three months (January to March 2009) broken down by region.
	
		
			   Sales in January to March 2009 
			  Region  January  February  March 
			 North East 0 0 0 
			 North West 1 0 1 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1 0 0 
			 East Midlands 0 0 0 
			 West Midlands 0 1 0 
			 Eastern 0 0 0 
			 London 3 0 (1)5 
			 South East 1 0 0 
			 South West 0 0 0 
			 England 6 1 6 
			 (1) London figure in March includes two sales in local authority sector. Sales figures by registered social landlords (RSLs) are from the Homes and Communities Agency.

Housing: HomeBuy

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether HomeBuy scheme variants are in operation; and what the differences in eligibility, equity terms and scope between each scheme are.

Margaret Beckett: The information requested can be found in the leaflet 'CLG HomeBuy Factsheet', a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Housing: HomeBuy

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have applied for assistance under the  (a) MyChoiceHomeBuy and  (b) Ownhome scheme to date.

Margaret Beckett: To the end of March 2009 there were  (a) 52,029 applications for MyChoiceHomeBuy and  (b) 6,409 applications for Own Home.

Housing: Low Incomes

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the low-income households helped into home ownership in 2007-08 were resident in each local authority area.

Margaret Beckett: A table showing the number of homes purchased through affordable housing schemes in 2007-08, by local authority, has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	These figures are taken from the low cost home ownership (LCHO) figures in the CLG affordable housing live table figures, and the number of right to buy (RTB) and preserved right to buy (PRTB) sales.
	Affordable housing LCHO figures are collated from the Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS); and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) returns submitted to CLG by local authorities. Figures showing the number of local authority right to buy sales are from P1B returns to CLG from local authorities. Figures showing the number of registered social landlord right to buy sales are from Regulatory and Statistical Returns (RSR) to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) from RSLs.
	Not all affordable housing sales can be broken down to local authority level, so we have included a row for sales where the LA is not known. This includes 3,150 registered social landlord PRTB sales, which are collected at RSL level rather than at LA level, and as RSLs can operate in more than one LA it is not possible to count these figures at LA level.

Housing: Affordable Homes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the average cost to the public purse of building a new home for social rent was in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the average cost to the public purse of building a new affordable home was in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: The national average amount of grant per unit paid through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing Programme for social rent and intermediate affordable housing in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   Grant per completion  (£) 
			  2005-06  
			 Intermediate 31,795 
			 Rent 55,353 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 Intermediate 28,927 
			 Rent 55,796 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 Intermediate 25,524 
			 Rent 57,289 
			   
			  2008-09  
			 Intermediate 30,313 
			 Rent 57,306 
			  Source:  Homes and Communities Agency.

Housing: Affordable Homes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of  (a) social homes and  (b) affordable housing was judged to be of (i) average and (ii) poor design quality in the most recent study of the sector conducted by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

Iain Wright: The Affordable Housing Survey conducted by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) did not differentiate between social and affordable housing. Instead it looked at affordable housing schemes which were either built by Registered Social Landlords or provided for them by market developers as part of planning agreements. 61 per cent. of those schemes tested were judged average and 21 per cent. poor as set out in the report of the survey. This can be found on the HCA's website:
	www.homesandcommunities.co.uk
	It should be noted however that the housing schemes that were assessed for this audit went through the planning process before our planning policy in PPS3 (November 2006) was issued which set out what is expected on housing design and before the Housing and Regeneration Act and Planning Act (both 2008) which put legislation in place to tackle poor quality design. We expect the future surveys to show increasing improvement as our policies have a chance to bed down and completed schemes reflect new HCA standards.

Housing: Affordable Homes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of  (a) social homes and  (b) affordable housing was judged to be poor in its provision for adaptation, conversion and extension in the Homes and Communities Agency's most recent survey of affordable housing.

Iain Wright: The Affordable Housing survey conducted by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) did not differentiate between social and affordable housing. Instead it looked at affordable housing schemes which were either built by RSLs or provided for them by market developers as part of planning agreements.
	The percentage of these judged as poor in their provision for adaptation, conversion and extension was 94 per cent. as set out in the report which can be found on the HCA's website:
	www.homesandcommunities.co.uk
	The reason for this is that a large proportion of schemes assessed involved apartments where the design did not offer the potential to enable them to be adapted for the future.
	It should be noted however that the housing schemes that were assessed for this audit went through the planning process before our planning policy in PPS3 (November 2006) was issued which set out what is expected on housing design and before the Housing and Regeneration Act and Planning Act (both 2008) which put legislation in place to tackle poor quality design. We expect the future surveys to show increasing improvement as our policies have a chance to bed down and completed schemes reflect new HCA standards.

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households purchased a home via the First Time Buyers Initiative in each region in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of households who purchased a home through the First Time Buyers initiative in each of the last three years by region.
	
		
			   2007  2008  2009  Total 
			 South West 86 162 35 283 
			 North West 43 150 25 218 
			 Yorks and Humber 73 37 0 110 
			 West Midlands 69 119 21 209 
			 East England 15 77 1 93 
			 North East 21 10 6 37 
			 South East 177 265 39 481 
			 London 160 217 20 397 
			 Total 644 1,072 150 1,866

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1507W, on housing: low incomes, what the average price of a property purchased with support from the First Time Buyers Initiative has been in each year since the scheme's inception.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the average price of a property purchased through the First Time Buyers initiative in each year since its inception.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Average property price 
			 2006 220,000 
			 2007 201,916 
			 2008 177,139 
			 2009(1) 163,008 
			 (1) Figures for 2009 only available until end of February 2009.

Local Area Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of  (a) the level of progress achieved in the roll-out and  (b) the effectiveness of the Local Area Agreement framework.

Sadiq Khan: Communities and Local Government has commissioned a long-term evaluation of local area agreements (LAAs) and local strategic partnerships (LSPs). Early findings published late last year indicated that the new local performance framework has been broadly welcomed, though concluded that it was difficult to attribute improvements directly to the new framework at this early stage. A forthcoming report from the evaluation provides further evidence that the new LAAs are generating greater focus and improved partnership working at the local level.
	The earlier report is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/laalspevaluationcasestudies
	The forthcoming report will be made available later this month at:
	www.communities.gov.uk
	Comprehensive area assessment, due to start reporting from November 2009, will include the first formal assessment of the progress areas are making against LAA targets. A review of local areas' initial efforts to prepare for LAA delivery was carried out by Government offices earlier this year indicated that the new framework was progressing well, with the vast majority of areas strengthening their partnership and delivery arrangements to enhance their ability to meet their new targets.

Local Government

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local councils have not yet had their core strategies  (a) submitted and  (b) approved; and what the timetable is for such core strategies to be approved.

Iain Wright: Of 333 core strategies planned by local councils:
	 (a) 282 are yet to be submitted to the Secretary of State, and;
	 (b) 291 are yet to be approved.
	According to Local Authority Local Development Schemes, all core strategies will be adopted by August 2012.

Local Government: Equal Pay

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding was disbursed during the equal pay capitalisation round in 2008-09.

John Healey: Since 2006, the Government have issued over £1.1 billion in capitalisation directions to provide support for councils to deliver equal pay for thousands of employees. Equal pay capitalisation directions issued by the Government in 2008-09 totalled £472 million.

Local Government: Standards

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 877W, on corporate improvement boards, what Audit Commission Use of Resources score each local authority received in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008; which local authorities have had their annual accounts qualified either in whole or in part in the last four years; and how much support each local authority has received for corporate or financial improvement purposes from their local regional improvement and efficiency partnership in each of the last two years.

John Healey: The following table shows Use of Resources each relevant local authority received in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008.
	
		
			   Audit  c ommission  use of resources judgment 
			  Local authority  (a) 2006  (b) 2007  (c) 2008 
			 Uttlesford 2 1 1 
			 Thurrock 2 2 2 
			 Dacorum 2 1 1 
			 Great Yarmouth 1 1 2 
			 Norwich City 1 1 2 
			 Waveney 2 1 1 
			 Wellingborough 3 2 2 
			 Haringey 3 3 3 
			 Liverpool 2 1 2 
			 Mid Devon 1 1 2 
			 Forest of Dean 2 2 1 
			 Tewkesbury 2 2 2 
			 Mendip 2 2 2 
			 West Somerset 1 1 1 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 2 2 3 
			 Bromsgrove 2 2 2 
			 Cornwall Fire and Rescue Authority 3 2 2 
		
	
	We do not hold information on which local authorities have its accounts qualified.
	The Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) are devolved partnerships of councils and other local services. Information on support each local authority has received for corporate or financial improvement purposes is not held centrally.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households have received support under the Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

Margaret Beckett: As part of the monitoring arrangements for the Government Mortgage Rescue Scheme, headline data will be published on a monthly basis on the Department's website starting this month. We will be publishing headline data for January, February and March 2009 on 30 April 2009, as pre-announced on the UK National Statistics Publication Hub, after which local authority breakdowns can be made available. The date of this publication has been delayed from 21 April 2009 owing to unforeseen issues with data quality and validation.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many loans she expects to be provided under the Repossession Prevention Fund; and what the maximum loan value is under the scheme;
	(2)  what the monetary value of her Department's Repossession Prevention Fund will be in  (a) 2009,  (b) 2010 and  (c) 2011.

Margaret Beckett: The total value of the Repossession and Evictions Prevention Fund will be £20 million. This will be a one off payment for 2009-10 to local authorities in direct response to the current economic conditions. It will be administered through the Homelessness Revenue Grant programme, under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. This is an established process as CLG have already allocated over £150 million, of Homelessness Grant, over three years (2008-11), to all local authorities to support their homelessness strategies to tackle and prevent homelessness effectively.
	The Fund will be used to provide loans of up to a maximum value of £5,000 to prevent repossession or eviction, helping at least 4,000 households to remain in their homes.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the effect of the Homeowner Mortgage Support scheme on the total level of mortgage debt.

Margaret Beckett: Homeowners Mortgage Support will enable eligible borrowers who suffer a temporary loss of income to cut their mortgage interest payments for up to two years to help them get back on track with their finances. Before entering the scheme, borrowers must receive independent money advice. We have estimated the increase in mortgage debt arising as part of the government scheme to be around £200 million, based on assumptions explained in detail within the impact assessment published alongside the launch of the scheme. This figure can be compared with the Council of Mortgage Lenders' latest estimate of balances outstanding on lending secured against dwellings of £1,224,856 million as at February 2009.

Mortgages: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeowners in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire took out mortgages in the last five years.

Iain Wright: Data on actual numbers of mortgage taken out are available from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). However they are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders latest press release on this is on their website at:
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/media/press/2218
	The CML data on mortgage lending are no longer freely available from their website. For detailed time series information members of the public can request to subscribe to CML to obtain access to a restricted website.

New Deal for Communities

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the extent to which  (a) the provision of guidance and  (b) sharing good practice has contributed to the development of local sustainability plans in New Deal for Communities areas.

John Healey: It is too early to make an assessment of the contribution that guidance and shared good practice from the New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme is making to the development of local sustainability plans in NDC areas.
	It was always the intention that the improvements to NDC residents would be delivered in a way that could be sustained beyond Government funding and into the long term. The Department has issued various guidance notes which relate to succession throughout the programme, most recently comprehensive succession guidance on 4 December 2008. This was launched at a conference attended by NDCs and local authorities, which was designed to assist them with preparing long term succession strategies to ensure that the benefits and improvements made to the areas can be sustained.

Non-Domestic Rates

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions her Department has had with the Treasury and Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the implementation of measures to introduce automatic rate relief for small businesses.

John Healey: The Department for Communities and Local Government has had a number of discussions with the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Treasury on making small business rate relief automatic.
	The Government are keen to explore ways in which we can promote, and improve the administration of, the existing small business rate relief scheme and increase its take up, including through automatic options. CLG officials will work with Treasury officials to see how the take up of the scheme can be improved.

Non-Domestic Rates

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to make payment of small business rate relief automatic for eligible businesses; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The Government are keen to explore ways in which we can promote, and improve the administration of, the existing small business rate relief scheme and increase its take up. CLG officials will work with Treasury officials to see how the take up of the scheme can be improved.

Planning Permission

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for each local planning authority to complete its core strategy; and what penalties will apply in the case of late completion.

Iain Wright: The individual timetable for the completion of each local authority core strategy is contained in its local development scheme, published on each local authority's website, which sets out all development plan documents and has been agreed by the Secretary of State. According to these local development schemes, all core strategies should be adopted by August 2012.
	Although there are no direct penalties, local authorities will fail to receive the full grant allocation from the Government's Housing and Planning Delivery Grant if priority development plan documents set out in the local development scheme are not prepared in accordance with their agreed time scale.
	Without up to date development plan documents, local authorities reduce their ability to direct the right type of development to the right place within their areas.

Regional Planning and Development

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent progress has been made in her Department's Growth Points programme; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Through the Growth Points initiative the Government are responding positively to local partners who are keen to pursue sustainable growth. Allocations to growth point locations, announced in December 2008:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingsupply/growthareas/growthfundallocations/
	were based on their programmes of development and we encourage these documents to be made available through the local authorities concerned. We are now asking local authorities to work closely with CLG and the Homes and Communities Agency to implement their programmes of development and effective partnership working will be particularly important during the current economic conditions.

Regional Planning and Development

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 76W, on regional planning and development, what timetable has been agreed for delivery of each of the remaining core strategies.

Iain Wright: Core strategies form part of the Local Development Framework and part of the development plan for each local planning authority in conjunction with the regional spatial strategy.
	The individual timetable for the completion of each local authority core strategy is contained in its Local Development Scheme, published on each local authority's website, which sets out all development plan documents and has been agreed by the Secretary of State. According to these local development schemes, all core strategies should be adopted by August 2012.

Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much was spent on maintaining  (a) local authority and  (b) registered social landlord properties which are (i) newer than 10 years, (ii) older than 10 years and (iii) older than 20 years in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the costs of maintaining housing owned by  (a) local authorities and  (b) registered social landlords which is (i) up to 10, (ii) between 11 and 20 and (iii) over 20 years old; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Information for local authorities is not available in the format requested.
	The Tenant Services Authority only hold information in relation to registered social landlords. The information for England in the Global Accounts for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008, show:
	Routine repairs—£1,422 million
	Planned and major repairs—£2,701 million (this includes capitalised major repairs)
	Total repairs—£4,123 million
	Management cost spend—£1,913 million
	The Tenant Services Authority do not hold or collect any data by property age.

Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what guidance is given to  (a) local authorities and  (b) registered social landlords on reducing the numbers of properties illegally sublet by tenants;
	(2)  what incentives are provided for  (a) local authorities and  (b) registered social landlords to reduce the numbers of properties illegally sublet by tenants;
	(3)  what estimate has been made of the number of social homes which were illegally sublet in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The Department has not issued guidance to social landlords on unlawful sub-letting. Robust procedures to tackle unlawful sub-letting are a part of effective stock management. Successful possession action against unlawful sub-letters frees up stock and, therefore, enables social landlords to house more of those in greatest need.
	The Department does not collect data on the numbers of social homes unlawfully sub-let.

Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information her Department has on the age profile of housing owned by  (a) registered social landlords and  (b) local authorities; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The English House Condition Survey includes an assessment of the age of dwellings that are owned by local authorities and registered social landlords. Table 1 provides estimates for 2006, the latest available from the survey.
	
		
			  Table 1: Dwellings owned by local authorities and registered social landlords by age, 2006 
			  Number (thousand) 
			  Dwelling age  Local authorities  Registered social landlords  All social landlords 
			 Pre-1919 96 182 278 
			 1919 to 1964 344 185 496 
			 1945 to 1964 812 454 1266 
			 1965 to 1980 703 467 1170 
			 1981 to 1991 111 208 319 
			 Post 1990 20 354 374 
			  Source: English House Condition Survey, 2006

Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average length of tenure for a tenant leaving a property in  (a) the registered social landlord sector and  (b) local authority housing was prior to departure in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: Data on the average length of tenure for tenants leaving a property are not available.

Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average cost was of maintaining a domestic dwelling owned by  (a) a local authority and  (b) a registered social landlord in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: Information for local authorities is not available in the format requested.
	The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) only hold information in relation to registered social landlords. The information for England in the global accounts from 2005 to 2008 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Average costs per unit, England 
			  £ 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Maintenance (routine and planned) 848 863 878 901 
			 Major repairs (including capitalised major repairs) 741 868 906 921 
			 Total maintenance 1,589 1,731 1,784 1,822 
			  
			 Management 695 730 780 844 
			  Note: Figures exclude RSLs with less than a 1,000 units.  Source: TSA Global Accounts 
		
	
	Information for 2004 is not provided because it is not directly comparable.

Repossession Orders: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many domestic properties in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire have been repossessed in the last five years.

Iain Wright: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However both are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders latest press release on this is on their website at:
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/media/press/2108
	The CML data on repossessions are no longer freely available from their website. For detailed time series information members of the public can request to subscribe to CML to obtain access to a restricted website.
	The Financial Services Authority data are available on their website at:
	http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Regulated/Returns/IRR/statistics/
	The CML and FSA release slightly different figures. The CML data are for repossessions on first-charge mortgages only, including Buy-to-Let mortgages, as issued by their members. CML estimate that their lenders currently account for 98 per cent. of mortgage lending. The FSA data, as well as covering possessions on first-charge mortgages, cover possessions on second-charge loans by regulated firms (many second charge lenders are not regulated) but do not cover possessions as comprehensively on Buy-to-Let mortgages, as some of these are from unregulated firms. The overall effect of the differences is that the FSA's statistics on possessions are slightly higher.

Roads: Floods

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Government's plans are for storm drainage standards for future road adoptions; what account those plans take of Environment Agency guidelines of a 100 year return-period storm standard; and if she will make a statement.

Paul Clark: I have been asked to reply.
	Adoption of highways is a matter for each highway authority. The Government have no plans to set design and construction standards in relation to adoptions.

Tenant Services Authority

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Office for Tenants and Social Landlords; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords, also called Tenant Services Authority (TSA), has issued a corporate plan with high level targets, agreed by Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government, and which should be reported on in its annual report. As the TSA has only been operational since December 2008, no formal performance review has yet taken place, but there have been several meetings between TSA and myself.

Travelling People: Caravan Sites

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent guidance her Department has issued to  (a) police forces and  (b) local authorities on the eviction of unauthorised Traveller camps.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government has produced the following guidance to assist the relevant authorities in dealing both with unauthorised camping (where the land is owned by others), and with unauthorised development (where the land is owned by the developer):
	"Local Authorities and Gypsies and Travellers: a guide to responsibilities and powers": May 2007;
	"Guide to effective use of enforcement powers, Part 1: unauthorised encampments" February 2006 (in conjunction with the Home Office); and
	"Guide to Effective Use of Enforcement Powers, Part 2: Unauthorised Development of Caravan Sites": October 2007.
	All of these publications are available on the Communities and Local Government website:
	www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingmanagementcare/gypsiesandtravellers

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Apprentices

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the application process is for an apprenticeship under the Government apprenticeship scheme for 16 to 18 year-olds.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There are various routes by which young people may enter an apprenticeship. Connexions services, and other agencies providing information, advice and guidance, refer young people to training providers and employers offering suitable apprenticeship opportunities. Young people may also apply directly to training providers and employers. From the beginning of this year the national apprenticeship on-line system for vacancy matching has been operating, providing a free service for employers and providers to advertise apprenticeship vacancies, and allowing potential apprentices to register and apply for vacancies. The National apprenticeship Service, launched on 1( )April 2009, will provide an end-to-end service to promote and deliver apprenticeships for employers and individuals, including young people.

Apprentices

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the role and responsibilities are of local colleges in delivery of the apprenticeship programme for 16 to 18 year-olds.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Further education colleges are important delivery partners in achieving our ambitions for 16 to 18-year-old apprentices. Where a local college is contracted by the Learning and Skills Council to deliver the apprenticeship programme they, along with other training providers, work with employers and their apprentices to deliver the training both on the job and at the college. The college will ensure the young person receives the training, work experience and personal support required to achieve the apprenticeship framework—the detail of which is determined by Sector Skills Councils or Standard Setting Bodies in conjunction with employers in their sector. Colleges may also be involved in delivering components of apprenticeship frameworks on behalf of other training providers and employers.

Apprentices

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department has taken to publicise the apprenticeship programme for 16 to 18 year-olds in  (a) rural areas and  (b) Cheshire; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Local Connexions services and other information, advice and guidance agencies publicise the apprenticeships programme across the whole country, covering both urban and rural areas, including Cheshire. Our new national apprenticeship on-line system for vacancy matching provides access to apprenticeship vacancies for all potential apprentices. The national advertising campaign, fronted by Sir Alan Sugar, ran successfully in February and March, generating over 4,000 employer leads and increasing visitors to the apprenticeships website to 100,000 a week.
	The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill currently before Parliament will place a duty on the Chief Executive of the National apprenticeship Service (NAS) to promote apprenticeships to employers and apprentices, and we would expect rural areas to be covered by this commitment. We are also working with the Commission for Rural Communities to research particular issues around increasing the number of apprenticeship places in rural areas.
	The NAS team for Cheshire are working with employers across the county to develop apprenticeship opportunities, and work with Connexions and other agencies to ensure that young people have the information and support they need to access them.

Children: Care Homes

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what factors he took into account in making the recent decision to decommission beds at local authority secure children's homes.

Beverley Hughes: The secure children's homes contract decisions followed a joint tendering exercise by the Youth Justice Board and the Department for Children Schools and Families. New contracts were offered to nine homes following a detailed evaluation, consisting of an assessment of the quality of the bids received and a financial assessment, based on the submitted prices. The required number of beds in each region, value for money, and overall affordability were factors in the decision-making process.

Education: Finance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what role  (a) local authorities,  (b) sub-regional groups of local authorities,  (c) Government offices of the regions,  (d) regional planning groups,  (e) the Young People's Learning Agency,  (f) regional development agencies and  (g) his Department will have in (i) funding and (ii) commissioning education and training required for 16 to 19-year-olds in (A) schools, (B) academies, (C) sixth-form colleges and (D) further education colleges.

Jim Knight: Our plans for the roles of these parties in the funding and commissioning process is set out in the "Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver (March 2008)" White Paper. Implementation of those plans is subject to the passage of the legislation now before the House.

Education: Finance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which sub-regional groups of local authorities he expects to provide funding for 16 to 19 education from April 2010; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the arrangements established by each sub-regional group for such funding.

Jim Knight: As part of the transfer of responsibilities from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to local authorities, the Department asked for proposals for sub-regional groupings by October 2008. Local authorities developed those further and submitted proposals in February 2009 to a national panel, involving the Local Government Association, Association of Directors of Childrens Services, Association of Colleges, Association of Learning Providers, Government Office, LSC and DCSF. A total of 43 proposals have now been considered by the national panel and demonstrate how well local authorities are responding to the plans to devolve commissioning for 16-19 provision to them. The sub-regional groupings are intended to plan the commissioning of provision with individual local authorities responsible for the funding. A list of the sub-regional groupings is set out as follows.
	The conclusions of the national panel are being considered by Ministers at the moment, although there are a number of themes such as the need to strengthen the involvement of providers in the process. A letter will be issued to each sub-regional grouping in May which will indicate the areas they should continue to develop and what further evidence the Secretary of State will be seeking to ensure their competence to take on this critical role by April 2010.
	 Sub-regional Group Proposals
	Following the National Panel in April 2009, proposals were received from 43 sub-regional groups:
	 North East
	Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton on Tees
	Durham
	Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland South Tyneside and Sunderland
	 South West
	Bath and NE Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
	Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole
	Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
	Gloucestershire
	Somerset
	Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
	Swindon and Wiltshire
	 East Midlands
	Northamptonshire
	Leicester and Leicestershire
	Derby and Derbyshire
	Lincolnshire and Rutland
	Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire
	 North West
	Cumbria
	Cheshire and Warrington
	Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan
	Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St. Helen's and Wirral
	Blackburn with Darwen
	 East of England
	Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Peterborough and Suffolk
	Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Luton
	Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock
	 London
	London
	 South East
	Milton Keynes
	East Sussex
	Buckinghamshire
	Brighton and Hove
	West Sussex
	Surrey
	Oxfordshire
	Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton
	Kent and Medway
	Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham
	 West Midlands
	Herefordshire, Shropshire Telford and Wrekin and Worcestershire
	Birmingham Solihull
	Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton
	Coventry and Warwickshire
	Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
	 Yorkshire and Humberside
	West Yorks: Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield
	North and East Yorks: East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North Yorkshire and York
	South Yorks: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield
	NE and N Lines: North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire

Educational Psychology: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what consideration he gave to continuing the top-slicing of funding for the training of educational psychologists in the annual revenue support grant; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the funding to be available to local authorities for training educational psychologists in each year from 2009-10 to 2012-13.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The continued use of top slice of the revenue support grant (RSG) for local authorities, as a means of funding the entry training of educational psychologists (EPs), was one of the options considered by a group of interested parties, including members drawn from the Local Government Association (LGA), EP professional interests and training providers. The LGA, however, decided that it no longer wished to use RSG top slice for that purpose. The effect of this recommendation was that the funds were redistributed to local authorities through the formula grant system administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	As formula grant is an un-hypothecated block grant it is not possible to identify amounts within it provided for a particular purpose. The decision as to how much of its budget an individual local authority might wish to earmark to a particular activity, such as support for the training costs of trainee EPs, is a matter for each local authority and not something on which this Department collects information.
	The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is working with interested parties to develop a long-term and sustainable, employer-led funding and entry training scheme for EPs, while administering the current training arrangements. To this end, the CWDC will continue to seek the views and engagement of all key stakeholders through its Educational Psychology National Forum, and to carefully examine options for future funding, while working with local authorities to secure their support for the current subscription scheme.
	The CWDC has commissioned a work force development model to help future planning. This will be used to help decide the number of training places needed nationally and regionally for the 2010/11 intake of students.
	Further investigation into the role of EPs in the children's work force of the future is also being commissioned to inform planning.

Further Education: Finance

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funds his Department has allocated to  (a) further education and  (b) sixth form colleges to support capital building projects in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11; and when such funds will become available.

Jim Knight: The Department has responsibility for the 16-19 capital programmes which fund building projects for additional places for 16 to 19-year-olds in expanded and new school sixth forms and new 16-19 provision in schools and colleges resulting from 16-19 competitions. The 16-19 capital budget is (i) £210 million in 2008-09 (ii) £210 million in 2009-10 and (iii) £240 million in 2010-11.
	We have also made £53 million available in 2009-10 and 2010-11 for exemplar 14-19 capital projects in schools and colleges to support delivery of diplomas and will announce the projects to be funded in the next few weeks.

Learning and Skills Council for England: Manpower

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff will transfer from the Learning and Skills Council in 2010 to  (a) each local authority in England and  (b) each regional office of the Young People's Learning Agency.

Jim Knight: We expect, subject to the passage of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill, to transfer some 950 posts to transfer to local authorities from the Learning and Skills Council in April 2010. A further 500 posts will transfer to the Young People's Learning Agency, with approximately 300 posts in the nine English regions. A breakdown of the number of posts by local authority is set out in the following table, together with the regional figures for YPLA. The precise number of staff will be finalised as they are matched to a suitable post in a region.
	
		
			  Number of posts transferring from the LSC to each local authority and region 
			   LA/SRG  Total LA posts (FTE)  Total YPLA posts (FTE) 
			 East of England Central Bedfordshire 4 — 
			  Bedford Borough 3 — 
			  Hertfordshire 9 — 
			  Luton 5 — 
			  Essex 13 — 
			  Southend 5 — 
			  Thurrock 5 — 
			  Cambridgeshire 8 — 
			  Norfolk 12 — 
			  Peterborough 5 — 
			  Suffolk 9 — 
			 East of England total  78 28 
			 East Midlands Leicester 6 — 
			  Leicestershire 9 — 
			  Northamptonshire 8 — 
			  Nottingham 6 — 
			  County of Nottingham 9 — 
			  Derby 5 — 
			  Derbyshire 9 — 
			  Lincolnshire 9 — 
			  Rutland 2 — 
			 East Midlands total  63 27 
			 
			 Greater London Barking and Dagenham 5 — 
			  Barnet 5 — 
			  Bexley 5 — 
			  Brent 5 — 
			  Bromley 5 — 
			  Camden 5 — 
			  City of London 0 — 
			  Croydon 5 — 
			  Ealing 5 — 
			  Enfield 5 — 
			  Greenwich 5 — 
			  Hackney 5 — 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham 5 — 
			  Haringey 5 — 
			  Harrow 5 — 
			  Havering 5 — 
			  Hillingdon 5 — 
			  Hounslow 5 — 
			  Islington 5 — 
			  Kensington and Chelsea 5 — 
			  Kingston upon Thames 5 — 
			  Lambeth 5 — 
			  Lewisham 5 — 
			  Merton 5 — 
			  Newham 5 — 
			  Redbridge 5 — 
			  Richmond upon Thames 5 — 
			  Southwark 5 — 
			  Sutton 5 — 
			  Tower Hamlets 5 — 
			  Waltham Forest 5 — 
			  Wandsworth 5 — 
			  Westminster 5 — 
			  SRG 12 — 
			 Greater London total  172 41 
			 
			 North East County Durham 8 — 
			  Darlington 5 — 
			  Hartlepool 5 — 
			  Middlesbrough 6 — 
			  Redcar and Cleveland 5 — 
			  Stockton on Tees 6 — 
			  Gateshead 5 — 
			  Newcastle 7 — 
			  North Tyneside 5 — 
			  Northumberland 6 — 
			  South Tyneside 5 — 
			  Sunderland 6 — 
			 North East total  69 26 
			 
			 North West Bolton 5 — 
			  Bury 5 — 
			  Manchester 8 — 
			  Salford 6 — 
			  Oldham 5 — 
			  Rochdale 5 — 
			  Stockport 7 — 
			  Tameside 5 — 
			  Trafford 5 — 
			  Wigan 6 — 
			  Cumbria 10 — 
			  Halton 5 — 
			  Knowsley 5 — 
			  Liverpool 9 — 
			  Sefton 6 — 
			  St. Helens 5 — 
			  Wirral 6 — 
			  Blackburn with Darwen 5 — 
			  Blackpool 5 — 
			  Lancashire 11 — 
			  Cheshire East 5 — 
			  Cheshire West 4 — 
			  Warrington 5 — 
			 North West total  138 38 
			 
			 South East Bracknell Forest 5 — 
			  Reading 4 — 
			  Slough 5 — 
			  West Berkshire 5 — 
			  Windsor and Maidenhead 5 — 
			  Wokingham 4 — 
			  Brighton and Hove 7 — 
			  Buckinghamshire 7 — 
			  East Sussex 8 — 
			  Hampshire 16 — 
			  Isle of Wight 5 — 
			  Portsmouth 5 — 
			  Southampton 6 — 
			  Kent 13 — 
			  Medway 5 — 
			  Milton Keynes 5 — 
			  Oxfordshire 8 — 
			  Surrey 13 — 
			  West Sussex 9 — 
			 South East total  135 39 
			 
			 South West Bath and North East Somerset 5 — 
			  Bristol 5 — 
			  North Somerset 5 — 
			  South Gloucestershire 5 — 
			  Bournemouth 4 — 
			  Dorset 6 — 
			  Poole 5 — 
			  Cornwall 9 — 
			  Isles of Scilly 1 — 
			  Devon 10 — 
			  Plymouth 5 — 
			  Torbay 5 — 
			  Gloucestershire 10 — 
			  Somerset 9 — 
			  Swindon 6 — 
			  Wiltshire 8 — 
			 South West total  98 33 
			 
			 West Midlands Birmingham 13 — 
			  Solihull 5 — 
			  Coventry 7 — 
			  Warwickshire 8 — 
			  Dudley 7 — 
			  Sandwell 5 — 
			  Walsall 5 — 
			  Wolverhampton 5 — 
			  Herefordshire 6 — 
			  Shropshire 8 — 
			  Telford and Wrekin 5 — 
			  Worcestershire 9 — 
			  Staffordshire 11 — 
			  Stoke-on-Trent 6 — 
			 West Midlands total  100 31 
			 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber Barnsley 5 — 
			  Doncaster 5 — 
			  Rotherham 6 — 
			  Sheffield 6 — 
			  Bradford 7 — 
			  Calderdale 5 — 
			  Kirklees 6 — 
			  Leeds 14 — 
			  Wakefield 6 — 
			  York 5 — 
			  North Yorkshire 11 — 
			  East Riding of Yorkshire 6 — 
			  Kingston upon Hull 6 — 
			  North East Lincolnshire 5 — 
			  North Lincolnshire 5 — 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber total  98 30

Pre-School Education: Finance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the  (a) overall cost of introducing the Early Years Foundation Stage and  (b) cost of monitoring the 69 learning goals in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Beverley Hughes: The EYFS Framework was launched on 13 March 2007 and became a statutory requirement from September 2008. The cost of developing, designing and printing the original Early Years Foundation Stage statutory guidance pack for providers was £610,000. The cost of the information and communications activity surrounding the launch of the EYFS was £245,000 which included communications to raise awareness, launch events, leaflets to parents, surveys exercises and media activities.
	The Department funded Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) training and development in schools through the School's Standard Fund. The level of funding provided was £5 million in 2007-08 and £7.9 million in 2008-09.
	EYFS training and development in the private, voluntary and independent sector is funded through the General Sure Start Grant (GSSG). We topped up this funding during 2007-08 with an additional £7 million exclusively for the level 3 certificate in EYFS. At the same time we enabled greater flexibility of the Transformation Fund, which is designed to raise the level of professional qualifications in the early years workforce, to enable further EYFS training for the private, voluntary and independent sector. Because of the way we fund local authorities through these broad grants it is not possible to provide a breakdown of how much was spent specifically on EYFS training per se.
	The Department funded QCA a total of £485,000 in 2007-08 and £888,000 in 2008-09 to provide guidance and materials, such as the EYFSP handbook and video exemplifications to support practitioners to monitor each child's achievements against the learning goals in the EYFS profile. This funding also includes the range of activities and support that QCA provides to local authorities, including accredited training and to make sure practitioner judgements are moderated and that the data are secure. We also funded QCA a total of £290,000 in 2008-09 to process and manage applications for exemptions from the EYFS learning and development requirements.

Pre-School Education: Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much funding has been allocated to the extension of the entitlement to free early education to all two year-olds;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost of extending entitlement to free early education to all parents with children of two years of age additional to the funding allocated to the extension of that entitlement to the parents of the 15 per cent. the most disadvantaged two year-olds in each local authority.

Beverley Hughes: We are extending a pilot, offering free early learning and childcare to 15 per cent. of the most disadvantaged two year olds in every local authority, over the next two years.
	Funding has been allocated until March 2011 to support this.
	Decisions regarding the pace and scale of further rollout will be taken as part of the next spending review.

Schools: Knives

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many appeals against decisions of schools to  (a) temporarily and  (b) permanently exclude children for carrying a knife have been upheld in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many successful appeals have been lodged in respect of children  (a) temporarily and  (b) permanently from schools for violent behaviour in the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There is no process for a parent or pupil to appeal a head teacher's decision on a fixed period exclusion (suspension), aside from a review by the governing body of certain fixed period exclusions. Claims alleging disability discrimination in respect of fixed period exclusions may be made to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). Information on such claims is not collected by my Department.
	Information on the number of appeals against permanent exclusion (expulsion) is collected centrally, but this is not broken down by the reason for exclusion.
	Departmental guidance on exclusions clearly sets out the circumstances and procedures that should be followed and the Government's guidance to independent appeals panels emphasises that exclusions should not be overturned without good reason. In 2006/07, 970 appeals were heard by panels, with only 100 pupils reinstated. These figures must be seen in the context of the total number of 8,680 permanent exclusions for that year. It means that just 1.2 per cent. of permanently excluded pupils were reinstated.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many mainstream secondary schools were attended by pupils with statements of special educational need in each year since 1997.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  State-funded secondary schools( 1) : Number of schools attended by pupils with statements of special educational need( 2) , as at January each year( 3) , in England 
			   All schools  Schools with pupils with statements of SEN 
			 1997 3,584 3,463 
			 1998 3,582 3,486 
			 1999 3,575 3,477 
			 2000 3,565 3,471 
			 2001(4) 3,496 3,426 
			 2002 3,471 3,371 
			 2003 3,454 3,372 
			 2004 3,435 3,369 
			 2005 3,416 3,360 
			 2006 3,405 3,356 
			 2007 3,399 3,344 
			 2008 3,383 3,322 
			 (1) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (2) Solely registered pupils only. (3) From 2002, data may not be comparable with previous years, as collection was changed from school level, to pupil level. (4) Estimates have been made for January 2001 because the data for SEN are known to be incomplete.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of adult education courses available in England in each year since 1997.

Si�n Simon: Information on the number of different courses funded in a given year is not collected. FE colleges and providers are given indicative budgets based on the expected delivery of an overall volume of learning. The actual numbers and types of courses delivered by a college or provider will depend on demand. The Statistical First Release (SFR) Post-16 Education: Learner Participation, Outcomes and Level of Highest Qualification Held (March 2009) provides information on the number of LSC-funded learners; the SFR can be found at the following link:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfrmar09
	Adults learn on different kinds of courses, ranging from unaccredited informal adult learning for personal enjoyment to vocational training courses that lead to recognised qualifications. In 2007/08, there were 3,278,000 adults learners participating in LSC-funded further education (made up of FE colleges including Learn Direct, adult and community learning, work-based learning and Train to Gain).

Adult Education: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether building projects that come within the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget are safeguarded until the end of the project; and whether such budgets are within the scope of the review of further education capital funding.

Si�n Simon: Capital projects that are already underway and funded from within the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Adult Safeguarded Learning budget are not subject to change. These projects will proceed and continue to be supported by the LSC as planned, in line with agreed terms and conditions and LSC procedures.
	The work that the LSC is undertaking with the sector on prioritisation will not include projects funded through the Adult Safeguarded Learning capital budget.

Apprentices

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent representations he has received on the effects of levels of availability of apprenticeship places on the ability of students to complete courses of study; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Ministers and officials have received a number of representations about the problems training providers have experienced in finding work placements for apprentices to enable them to complete their apprenticeship framework. The construction industry is one sector where problems have been most acute and we have worked with employers, trade unions and sectoral bodies through the construction taskforce to identify measures to help providers, employers and apprentices. Most notably we have, together with ConstructionSkills established a matching service to help those apprentices in the construction sector at risk of redundancy to find alternative employment and to complete their apprenticeship. We are currently working with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to explore how this approach might be extended to other sectors.
	We are also taking steps to encourage employers to continue to support training and apprenticeships through the 175 billion a year Government spend on procuring goods and services. Government have made a commitment to routinely consider skills issues and promote training opportunities through their procurements. In construction, Departments and Agencies have made a specific commitment to consider the case for including a requirement that a proportion of the project workforce is apprentices when letting new construction contracts. We are looking to build on this approach in other major areas of spend, including IT.
	On 17 April, the Department published new guidance, jointly developed with the Office of Government Commerce, to support Departments and agencies in implementing these commitments.
	The 140 million package announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in January for an additional 35,000 apprenticeship training places will help fund new provision in both the public and private sectors, and will extend the opportunities available to people facing redundancy. We have also developed some flexibilities to help apprentices who have been made redundant. Redundant apprentices can now continue their training with a provider for up to six months while they and their provider look for an alternative employer. The National Apprenticeship Service has provided revised guidance about access to EMA and hardship funds which is already available. If a redundant apprentice is close to completing their framework and has evidence of the relevant employer experience, we expect providers, Sector Skills Councils and awarding bodies to be considerate to their individual circumstances in order to support them in completing their course of study.

Apprentices

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the final report of the UK Skills Commission's inquiry into apprenticeships published in March 2009.

Si�n Simon: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools and Learners have welcomed the Skills Commission report on Apprenticeships at its launch on 18 March 2009.
	We welcome this constructive contribution to the development of the Government's Apprenticeship Programme in England, and the emphasis it places on the value of work-based learning. We expect to make a formal response to the recommendations set out in the report in June, which will allow us to take into account the responses to the consultation on the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE).

Apprentices: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what funding his Department is providing for apprenticeships in Coventry in 2009-10.

Si�n Simon: Funding for 2009/10 has not yet been allocated to training providers and financial information of this type is not available at constituency level.
	Since 2001 we have invested 6.4 billion in the apprenticeship programme and we will continue to build on this investment. We are increasing funding for apprenticeships in England in 2009-10 to over 1 billion. In January my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a 140 million package to provide 35,000 extra apprenticeship places in the coming year.

Apprentices: Energy

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to provide apprenticeships in the energy sector.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 24 April 2009
	The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Children Schools and Families currently fund apprenticeships in a number of energy related occupations in the gas, electricity and nuclear industries in England. In 2007-08 900 young people started an apprenticeship in the energy sector. We are taking a wide range of steps to encourage more employers to offer high quality places in all sectors of the economy. We also believe apprenticeships can play a key role in our response to the current economic downturn. Earlier in the year my right hon. friend the Prime Minister announced a 140 million package to provide an extra 35,000 apprenticeship places over the coming year in both the public and private sectors to help strengthen the country's competitiveness.
	In January the new online apprenticeship vacancy matching service for employers and potential apprentices went live. The first chief executive of the new National Apprenticeship Service took up post in February and the National Apprenticeship Service was fully functional from 1 April 2009 with a remit to expand apprenticeships and provide a single point of contact for employers and apprentices. To raise awareness and encourage more employers to take on or offer more apprenticeships a national advertising campaign fronted by Sir Alan Sugar ran in February and March.
	Our New Opportunities White Paper published in January announced the Government's commitment to extend group training associations; ensure all apprentices have clear progression routes; and commits to work towards an entitlement to an apprenticeship for all young people leaving care. Looking to the future, we have set ambitious targets for the growth of the Apprenticeships programme. Apprenticeships provisions are being taken forward as part of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill, including provisions to ensure that an apprenticeship place is available for all suitably qualified young people by 2013.

Apprentices: Expenditure

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent on apprenticeships for 16 to 18 year olds in  (a) Cheshire and  (b) England in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have been asked to reply.
	For apprenticeships for 16 to 18-year-olds in 2008-09, 12.4 million has been allocated to training providers contracted to the LSC in the Cheshire and Warrington area. In 2007-08, the latest financial year for which spend information is available, 637 million was spent on apprenticeships for young people in England. Total funding for apprenticeships in England is planned to increase to over 1 billion in 2009-10. Earlier in the year my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a 140 million package to provide 35,000 extra apprenticeship places in the coming year.

Basic Skills: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what funding his Department is providing for adults' skills development in Coventry in 2009-10.

Si�n Simon: The Department does not hold this 2009-10 budget allocation at a regional or local level. The LSC makes decisions about allocations of funding to specific areas based on strategic discussions with FE Colleges and providers, partners and other organisations. This ensures that the needs of the local communities are met and that the activity delivered supports key priorities and targets. Geoffrey Russell, the Council's Acting Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Friend with further information. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills on what date he received a copy of the report commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council's Director of Property and Infrastructure on capital budgets in the further education sector which was published on 11 February 2008.

Si�n Simon: The report commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Director of Property and Infrastructure on capital budgets in the further education sector was an LSC internal report.
	The report was not published and was not seen by the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many projects delayed by the Learning and Skills Council's moratorium on capital spending for further education colleges he expects to be re-tendered as the original tender will have become invalid.

Si�n Simon: Capital funding for further education colleges is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). As the information requested pertains to records held by the council, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the acting LSC Chief Executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many of capital projects in further education colleges were at the time of the announcement of the Learning and Skills Council's moratorium on capital spending for further education colleges were at post-tender stage with a selected contractor; and what assessment has been made of the merits of allowing projects which had reached this stage of development to proceed notwithstanding the moratorium.

Si�n Simon: Budget 2009 announced that an additional 300 million of capital funding will be made available in the current spending review period. This will allow us to take forward a limited number of the most urgent and greatest need projects during this spending review, although the precise number will depend on the projects chosen. In order to determine which projects will be funded, the LSC are consulting with the sector on prioritisation criteria and they have established a reference panel of college principals convened by the Association of College to inform the approach for prioritising schemes.
	As the information requested for the first part of your question, regarding college projects at the post-tender stage, pertains to records held by the Council, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the acting Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Chief Executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the costs incurred by those colleges bidding for contracts which have been affected by delays caused by the Learning and Skills Council's moratorium on capital spending for further education colleges.

Si�n Simon: We recognise that some colleges have incurred significant costs particularly, but not exclusively, where the project is at an advanced stage of development.
	The Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) new acting Chief Executive, Geoff Russell, has appointed an external team to review the current financial data held by the LSC, as well as a team of property specialists to assist the LSC to ensure information held about individual projects is accurate, comprehensive and a sound basis for taking future decisions. The LSC will work with each college, with the help of independent property consultants, to assess how the longer term value of expenditures that can be incurred, as well as to understand the nature and extent of any liabilities.
	Through its normal financial intervention process, the LSC will ensure that no college is unable to meets its financial obligations as a result of decisions on capital projects. Once this work by the property specialists has been completed, and there is a full analysis of the costs incurred, then the contribution that can be made to such costs from the LSC will be confirmed. The LSC plan to be able to confirm this to colleges at the beginning of June.

Departmental Billing

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of its suppliers his Department has paid within 10 days of receipt of invoice in each of the last five months.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 30 April 2009
	The percentage of invoices from suppliers settled by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills within 10 days of receipt, in the last five months, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 November 2008 90 
			 December 2008 96 
			 January 2009 91 
			 February 2009 96 
			 March 2009 95

Departmental NDPBs

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects the outcomes of his Department's review of its relationship with its non-departmental public bodies to be published; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Following the Foster report on the LSC capital programme, the Secretary of State has asked the Permanent Secretary to carry out a review of the Department's relationships with its non departmental public bodies. The aim of the review is to ensure that there is clarity about accountability and responsibility in these relationships. I expect the Permanent Secretary to complete his work by the end of May. The Secretary of State will then consider appropriate next steps.

Learning and Skills Council

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills who the members of the Learning and Skills Council's Prioritisation Working Group are; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The Learning and Skills Council's Prioritisation Working Group was a group that the LSC established in spring 2008, with the specific task of considering how capital projects might be prioritised at regional and national level. As this is a group established by the LSC, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the acting chief executive of the LSC, to write to the hon. Member with the information he has requested.

Learning and Skills Council

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which of his Department's officials  (a) are members of and  (b) observers on (i) the Prioritisation Working Group, (ii) the Capital Policy Group and (iii) the Finance and Resource Board; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The Prioritisation Working Group was a Learning and Skills Council (LSC) group, established in spring 2008 with the specific task of considering how capital projects might be prioritised at regional and national level. The Department was not represented on this group when it was first formed. However, the group was re-established in autumn 2008 and officials from the Department were invited as observers to this group. This invitation has been taken up by a number of officials.
	The Capital Policy Group was an LSC working group on developing FE capital policy. The Team Leader of the Further Education Infrastructure Team, from the Department, was an observer on this group.
	The Department has observer status on the Learning and Skills Council's Finance and Resources Board. Usually represented by the Deputy Director in the Further Education Finance and Performance Division.

North Devon College

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent assessment he has made of progress in the construction projects at North Devon College.

Si�n Simon: Capital funding for further education colleges is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). As the information requested is with regard to an operational matter for the council, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the acting LSC chief executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.

Overseas Students: Assessments

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students were awarded qualifications by further education colleges not on the UK Border Agency's accreditation list in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008.

Si�n Simon: The UK Border Agency's accreditation list lists all organisations that have been approved by the UK Border Agency to employ migrants or sponsor students. On 31 March 2009, the register of sponsors replaced the Register of Education and Training Providers maintained by the Department for Education and Skills and then the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families do collect and publish information on the achievement of accredited qualifications, including those delivered by both approved and non-approved FE colleges. However, coverage and identification of the delivery of these qualifications is not robust enough to derive reliable statistics.

Research

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the new research priorities referred to in Table 6.1 of the Budget 2009 Red Book are; and what steps his Department  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to consult the research community on the identification of these priorities.

David Lammy: The priorities referred to in Table 6.1 of the Budget 2009 Red Book relate to the spending of 118 million of efficiency savings that the Research Councils achieved in 2008-09. In accordance with the Haldane Principle, detailed priorities are for the Research Councils, rather than DIUS, to decide. The research priorities for each Research Council can be found in their individual delivery plans.

Research Councils

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects the research councils to publish their plans for refocusing research priorities; and whether he plans to reduce commitments to existing research programmes to fund new priorities.

David Lammy: The Research Councils are currently in the process of assessing how their spending on research might be focused to give the best value from our investment. The details of this process, including the timetable of any publications, are for the Research Councils to decide.

Research Councils: Finance

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what instructions his Department has issued to the research councils on identifying the value-for-money savings identified in the 2009 Budget;
	(2)  how the value-for-money savings identified in the 2009 Budget will be shared between the research councils; and from which areas of their budgets he expects the research councils to make savings.

David Lammy: The Department has given no instructions to the Research Councils. The Research Councils have told us that they have revised their plans for value-for-money efficiencies for CSR07 which has resulted in the collective target for 2010/11 increasing from 243 million to 349 million.
	The details of how these targets will be achieved are a matter for the Research Councils and the outcomes will be reported in the normal manner in the departmental annual report.

Training: Veterinary Medicine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much funding was made available to local learning and skills councils for the provision of veterinary nurse training in each of the last five years.

Si�n Simon: Funding for specific learning aims is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). As the information requested is with regard to an operational matter for the Council, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the acting LSC chief executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the House Libraries.

Vocational Training

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills for what reasons the Statistical First Release on further education, DS/SFR1, published in December 2008, does not include figures for the number of learners on Learning and Skills Council funded work-based learning and Train to Gain provision at the end of each quarter by programme.

Si�n Simon: The number of learners was previously provided alongside starts and completions. This can present a misleading picture because the figures cannot be immediately related to each other in the same year. This is particularly true where the number of starts changes significantly because there is a time lag before completions increase, as seen in Train to Gain over the last few years. Therefore the Statistical First Release (SFR), DS/SFR1, published in December 2008, focuses on the most instructive and transparent measures of starts and completion rates. Starts provide insight on growth in the programme and completion rates demonstrate the quality of delivery in the system.
	The December SFR was the first step in addressing the findings of the review of Post-16 Learner Statistical First Releases. It is planned that the SFR will develop over the coming year by integrating a range of sources into one main quarterly release and adopting more robust and sustainable approaches to the presentation of data.
	This was the first SFR to be produced by the 'Data Service', a new arms length organisation of the LSC, being setup to focus on improving and evolving data services for the FE sector. With its statistical resource now fully operational, the onward development of the SFRs is expected to gather pace along with improved availability of other data. As part of this process statisticians will be reviewing the content and are considering providing a quarterly series of starts for these programmes in future SFRs.